Emily Ratajkowski knows how to turn diamonds into… even more diamonds. The model has taken one of the most sentimental yet bittersweet pieces of jewelry from her closet and transformed it into a statement of strength and independence.
On March 19, EmRata debuted her new “divorce rings” on Instagram. It turns out she used her engagement ring from ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, whom she divorced in 2022, to make two new rings that signify her newfound freedom.
The New Bling
EmRata posted a slideshow of photos showing off her new bling, tagging jewelry designer Alison Lou, who helped with the transformation. The pear-shaped and princess-cut diamonds now sit on their own gold bands.
In a new interview, Ratajkowski told Vogue the rings “represent my own personal evolution” following her breakup. “I don’t think a woman should be stripped of her diamonds just because she’s losing a man,” she quipped.
She said the idea came to her after reading her friend Stephanie Danler’s essay “The Unravelers,” which mentions her grandmother’s “snake ring” that includes every stone from the rings of her previous marriages. “I loved the idea of a ring unabashedly representing the many lives a woman has lived,” EmRata said.
Naturally, Rihanna was also an inspiration — specifically, a piece of the singer’s own $600,000 jewelry. “I was very inspired by Rihanna’s diamond pinky-toe ring,” she said. “I liked the idea of my former wedding ring ending up on my pinky.”
The OG Engagement Ring
EmRata got the wedding, then the ring. After tying the knot in February 2018 with just simple gold wedding bands, Bear-McClard came through with a proper engagement ring four months later. Ratajowski debuted the bling on Instagram in June 2018, showing the two stones sitting side-by-side on one golden band, which matched her wedding ring.
Given that the engagement ring came later, Ratajkowski had the time to be hugely involved in the design process to make sure it was exactly what she wanted.
“We liked the idea of two stones instead of one and spent a long time looking at rings with multiple stones for inspiration,” she told Vogue at the time. “At one point it included a ruby as the second stone, [but] ultimately we loved the idea of the femininity of the pear contrasted with the architecture of the princess.”