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Meet the Couple Photos: Elements of Our Wedding: Logistics: |
 Marina's engagement ring was designed by Michael and custom-built by Bostonian Jewlers. The design elements of the ring were included as both symbols of their relationship and for practical reasons.  The
stone in
Marina's ring is a cabochon cut star ruby. The star is formed by hexagonally oriented
rutile inclusions in the aluminum oxide (ruby) matrix. These
ultra-thin
rutile 'silk threads' cause a concentrated source of light, such as the
sun or a bright lamp, to make a six-pointed star emanate from the ruby.
Marina always said that our relationship started with a spark, and that
the spark never left. In this way the 'spark' is preserved in the stone
for Marina to enjoy forever. The ruby is Michael's birthstone,
and this
particular star ruby was mined in Vietnam - Marina's birth
country.The ring was also designed not to interfere with Marina's lab work. A cabochon-cut stone is round and smooth, and therefore has no sharp edges that could rip gloves in the lab. The stone is mounted in a rounded bezel to further protect the gloves that Marina uses so much in lab. The ring is made of 14kt gold so that it will not scratch as easily as a higher carat gold will. Finally, the stone is mounted up on 'shoulders' so that the wedding band will fit underneath. The wedding rings were designed and built by Michael at MIT and at MassArt. The rings are made of Mokume Gane in a process similar to that of Pattern Welded Steel, but using precious metals.
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Please click here for Mike's normal website.