1.25 CT BLACK DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING — EMPRESS SETTING, 18K ROSE GOLD WITH RED DIAMONDS AND PARAIBA TOURMALINE

An empire of one.

Imperatrix is Latin for Empress — the feminine form of Emperor, the one who ruled in her own name. This ring is built for that kind of woman. A 1.25-carat black diamond at the center, round brilliant, held in four prongs of 18k rose gold. Twelve red diamonds running the shank. Two Paraiba tourmalines tucked into the sides, glowing an electric blue-green that almost doesn't look like it belongs on earth. Three of the rarest stones in the trade, worn together, in a single ring. It doesn't apologize for any of it.

A word on the stones

Black diamond. Not carbon-fogged, not irradiated — the genuine natural black diamond is an opaque stone built from so many tightly-packed inclusions that no light can pass through. It smolders instead of sparkles. It reads not as a diamond that failed to be clear but as a diamond that chose not to be.

Red diamond. The rarest of all colored diamonds. Pinks get the press, blues and yellows get the auctions, but reds are the ones that almost don't exist. Fewer than thirty true red diamonds of any significant size have ever been brought to market. The twelve red accents on this shank are small, as all red diamonds tend to be — the stone barely occurs in nature above half a carat — but they are real, and they are the kind of stones most jewelers will never touch in a career.

Paraiba tourmaline. Discovered in the state of Paraíba in northeastern Brazil in the late 1980s, Paraiba is the only tourmaline on earth that contains copper as a trace element. The copper gives the stone a neon blue-green that doesn't behave like other blues — it seems to generate light rather than reflect it. The original Brazilian mine is essentially depleted now; the stones that remain in circulation are increasingly drawn from smaller deposits in Mozambique and Nigeria, and fine examples have become genuinely scarce. The two flanking this center are small, as Paraibas almost always are, but the color is unmistakable.

Three stones that, by themselves, would each carry a room. Together, set into the same ring, the effect is a kind of quiet declaration. The center is absence — a stone so full of matter it admits no light. The reds are warmth. The Paraibas are electric. An empire can contain all three.

Every stone is natural, ethically sourced, and conflict-free. The 18k rose gold is solid and recycled where possible. The setting is built using old world techniques by hand — the same methods that have defined fine jewelry for centuries.

Made in New York. One piece, one wearer, one story.

Please note The ring pictured is an example of our Empress setting. Because every Vena Amoris piece is made to order by hand, your ring will be crafted individually — with its own hand-selected black diamond, red diamonds, and Paraiba tourmalines, sourced specifically for you. Red diamonds and Paraibas vary meaningfully stone to stone; slight differences in color, size, and character are part of what makes each piece entirely yours.

The details

• Metal: solid 18k rose gold
• Center stone: 1.25 ct black diamond, round brilliant
• Accent stones: twelve red diamonds along the shank
• Side stones: two Paraiba tourmalines
• Handmade in New York

Make it yours Every Vena Amoris piece begins as a conversation. If you'd like this design in a different size, metal, or stone — or something entirely your own — email us. There are no traditions when it comes to love.