I got asked back to do a second piece for Designweek magazine this week, in the ‘Inspired’ section of the magazine, next to the letters.
They asked me for an interesting story related to design in Taiwan, so I had no choice but to select my legendary wedding ring design – check out the old posting here in ‘Lord of the Rings‘.
Sadly, no direct link to their web site, but here is the text below:
Inspired – ‘Lord of the Rings’
Working in Taiwan, I deal with some pretty strange design briefs. My boss – great grandson of Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek – appeared on a TV talk show and managed to lose a bet with the host. The forfeit? We had to design her a wedding ring.
I am sure it seemed logical to assign a Brit Industrial Designer with zero jewellery experience, so I had a frantic two weeks of forging a concept. I met the celebrity couple and for the whole time they held hands, so I suggested that we cut a diamond in two and give half to each. I went one step further and mounted it on the inside; to show off the rock the ring had to be removed.
Half the media were aghast at the concept – ‘cut a diamond in half?!’ – but the rest loved the irony that the reduced value of the jewel of course mattered little if they spent the rest of their lives together.
Arriving at the workshop to inspect the pieces, I was a little shocked to meet camera crews from five TV stations and eight newspapers. “The cameras go live to Asia in one minute – please tell us about your concept…”
