Custom Portrait Diamond Lover’s Eye Ring

The Lover’s Eye ring is jewellery maker Kelty Pelechytik’s “show-stopping piece.” The crown jewel of Pelechytik’s collection blends her love of a historical art form — miniature paintings — with her personal passion for handmade jewellery.

According to Pelechytik, secret lovers in the 19th century would wear rings, necklaces and brooches that had a tiny painting of their beloved’s eye set under a multi-faceted gem. No one would be able to see the painted eye except the person wearing it.

Pelechytik works with a professional miniature-design artist based in Australia who paints each eye using Limoges enamel, a long-lasting and waterproof enamel that ensures her clients will have their Lover’s Eye for many years to come. Other than the painting, each element of these custom rings is handmade in Edmonton.

Everything from the painting, the colour and carat of the gold and the size of the portrait diamond (a portrait diamond is flat like a mirror), is the client’s choosing. The process to create one of the rings can take months.

All of the diamonds are ethically sourced, but Pelechytik can also make the Lover’s Eye ring without a diamond, which she says is one way that she can make her jewellery more affordable, and therefore accessible to more clients. “It’s kind of been my dream piece,” Pelechytik says.

$2,400 to $25,000
keltypelechytik.com