Apple designer Jony Ive dreams up an all-diamond ring
No silver. No gold. All sparkle.
Jony Ive, Marc Newson and Diamond Foundry have teamed for an all-diamond ring.
Apple chief design officer Jony Ive isn't just busy lending his creative vision to rounded iPhone corners and sleek Apple Stores. He's behind the creation of the world's ultimate diamond ring -- no metal required.
Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson teamed up with diamond producer Diamond Foundry to make a ring made entirely out of a lab-made diamond.
Jony Ive's co-creation is part of a charity auction.
The Diamond Foundry stepped up to the challenge of creating the block of diamond large enough to be carved into a ring. The company's master stone cutter will use custom tools to complete the job.
"The diamond block will be faceted with several thousand facets, some of which are as small as several hundred micrometers," according to the Diamond Foundry. "The interior ring will be cylindrically cut out for the desired smoothness using a micrometer thick water jet inside which a laser beam is cast."
The ring will go up for bid Dec. 5 at Sotheby's (RED) Auction in Miami to raise money for HIV/AIDS programs in Africa and in Chicago. The auction house will also accept bids online and by phone. Ive and Newson curated a previous (RED) Auction in 2013.
Sotheby's estimates the ring could go for up to $250,000 (£190,000, AU$350,000).
The winner will be able to request a ring size for the finished piece, but will only be able to go up to a US size 5, which is pretty dainty -- a small ring with a grand ambition.
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