A Ring That Stops Time | An Afternoon with Nadia Shafika

I didn’t plan to spend my afternoon rethinking what love looks like in gold and carats—but that’s what happened the day I sat across from Nadia Shafika.


It started the way most modern obsessions do: scrolling Instagram. Between muted filters and curated perfection, something unexpected caught my eye. A hand—her hand—resting casually on a table. But the ring on it? It stopped everything.
 An emerald-cut brown diamond, lit from within, flanked by two sharp baguette side stones, set in warm 14k gold. It looked like it belonged in a dream, or a vault behind velvet curtains, or maybe in a memory I hadn’t lived yet.


I’d followed Nadia’s work for years—her multidisciplinary spirit, her sense of form, her poetic mind—but this was different. This wasn’t work. This was personal.
 So I reached out. Not expecting a response. Just pulled by curiosity. But Nadia, in her signature way, said yes. Not just to a conversation, but to a meeting. A real one. The kind you carve out space for. She even chose the place: a quiet, elegant Italian restaurant—one she hinted held personal meaning. “It’s special,” she smiled. “For many reasons.”
 That’s how I found myself seated across from her, notebook open, espresso cooling between us, and that ring gleaming like a third presence.

The Design


“It was a shared effort,” she said. “He wanted it to be mine—and he knew I was a jewelry designer. I always take things into my own hands.”
 Nadia didn’t just make the ring. She lived it. Designed it from four initial concepts—each more striking than the next—and her boyfriend, also her partner in several creative ventures, made the final call.
 “It wasn’t a flashy pick,” she told me. “He chose the one that felt most like me. That was the point.”
 But what she didn’t say at first—what came later with a smile—was that he picked the boldest one. Without hesitation. “Go bigger,” he told her.
 It surprised her… but not really.


That’s how they work. The things she overthinks, he simplifies. The things that overwhelm him, she breathes through. “We balance each other out,” she said. “So much of our dynamic is like that—I might question things, dig deep, make structure, action. But when it came to the ring, he just knew.”


They’ve already completed five projects together. They’ve won awards, pushed boundaries, created things that merge their two worlds. But this—this was theirs.

The Meaning


“We were coming off a big personal win,” she said. “It felt like a moment that needed a marker. L Just… something we both felt.”
 The ring isn’t loud. It doesn’t demand attention. It simply is. Quietly monumental. It reflects not just a moment, but a kind of presence they’ve always shared.
 When I asked if it felt like an engagement ring, she paused.
 “Everyone’s freaking out,” she laughed. “Because it’s huge. It’s not typical. But it’s mine. And it feels like me.”


No attempt to chase a trend. Just the honesty of what fits.
 “It’s a signal,” she said, more serious now. “I miss him all the time. We both carry (responsibilities) a lot. But when I look at it, I feel close. I feel chosen—not in a possessive way, but in a peaceful one.”

The Shift


It’s not just the story of a beautiful ring. It’s the kind of piece that marks a shift—subtle, but significant—in how we approach jewelry today.
 There was a time when bigger diamonds meant status. When engagement rings followed strict formulas. But Nadia’s ring, and the story behind it, leans into something quieter. Personal significance. Artistic restraint. Emotional clarity.

She could’ve gone flashier. She could’ve made it louder. But she didn’t.


“This one already says enough,” she told me. “It’s already big. The side stones are quiet on purpose. I didn’t want to overpower it—or the future pieces I might wear later. I wanted it to feel complete, but open.”
 In a world where everything is curated to perform, this choice feels like an act of resistance. A reminder that luxury doesn’t have to shout—and that real love rarely does.

The Legacy


That’s what lingered with me after we hugged goodbye and I walked back out into the city. The ring was striking, yes. A showstopper. But what stayed with me wasn’t its sparkle—it was the stillness. The calm. The quiet precision of two people choosing, together.

Because jewelry, at its best, doesn’t just decorate. It remembers. It holds what words cannot. It invites us to consider our own timelines—who we are when no one’s looking, what we want to be reminded of when they are.
 Nadia and her partner didn’t just design a ring. They captured a moment. Preserved a rhythm. Created a future heirloom in real time.

And I was lucky enough to witness it.

The Specs


Center Stone: Emerald-cut brown diamond, 15 x 10.5 mm (1.42 ratio), approx. 7.97 ct

Side Stones: 2 baguette diamonds, 2x5 mm each

Setting: 14k yellow gold, 2mm comfort fit band, sit low.
Designed by: Nadia Shafika, collaboration and final call made by her partner.

Original Article by Lena G. Ward, extracted from Medium.com with permission.