With This Ring, I Unwed

Last week, Emily Ratajkowski shared on Instagram that she had created a pair of “divorce rings” by remodeling the pear- and princess-cut diamonds from her toi et moi engagement ring into two separate rings. Alison Chemla, a New York-based jeweler and creative director at Alison Lou (who also crafted Ms. Ratajkowski’s original engagement ring), created the new pieces. The post has since received over one million likes.

“Divorce rings are having a moment,” said Sasha Nixon, a New York-based jewelry curator and historian. The trend, one embraced primarily by women, is about breathing life into one’s wedding rings following a split.

Ms. Ratajkowski, whose divorce from the movie producer Sebastian Bear-McClard became final in 2023, hopes to shift the negative assumptions about ending a marriage.

“I would like there to be a perspective that allows space for the fact that leaving a relationship is often a remarkable and brave act,” she said. “I really would like to see single moms — or women starting over for the first time in a terrifying way — find some kind of solace in the idea that they’re not failures for leaving.”

With that in mind, Ms. Chemla said she wanted to create rings that Ms. Ratajkowski would “feel proud of” and that would “make a statement,” describing the process as “collaborative.”

“I wish we honored other major life events with the same respect we reserve for marriage,” said Lauren Boc, a North Carolina-based jeweler and founder of Hera Fine Jewelry. “Leaving a relationship that doesn’t serve you takes courage, and that’s something worth commemorating.”