Paul & Leah’s Bespoke Kasun London Engagement Ring

I spend much of my life looking at jewellery.

I write about its design, its craftsmanship and the people who bring it into the world. I am fortunate to see exceptional pieces and hear the stories behind them. Every so often, however, a jewel crosses the line between my professional world and my personal life.

This is one of those pieces.

My twin brother, Paul, is engaged to Leah. The ring he chose for her was made by Kasun London, one of my favourite clients and a designer whose work I have admired for years.

Writing those words fills me with an enormous sense of pride. This is not a story I can observe from a distance. It is about my twin, the person with whom I have shared my entire life, beginning before either of us can remember.

A ring that could only belong to them

What I can share is the happiness that surrounds Paul and Leah, and the extraordinary ring Paul commissioned for her.

Named Till Death, the bespoke engagement ring is made in white gold and set with diamonds around a deep red, specially cut coffin-shaped garnet.

Named Till Death, the bespoke engagement ring is made in white gold and set with diamonds around a deep red, specially cut coffin-shaped garnet. Sculpted skulls sit on either side of the centre stone, while pointed geometric details continue along the shoulders.

It is darkly romantic, unconventional and unapologetically personal.

This is not an engagement ring chosen by habit or convention. It feels considered from every angle. The coffin cut, the skulls and the name might initially suggest something gothic, but the sentiment at its centre is deeply tender.

Till Death is a promise expressed in Paul and Leah’s own visual language.

Till Death, a bespoke white gold engagement ring by Kasun London, featuring a dramatic coffin-cut garnet, diamonds, sculpted skulls and geometric shoulders. Photo courtesy of Kasun London.

Kasun London’s unmistakable hand

There could not have been a more appropriate designer for this commission.

Kasun London has always understood that jewellery can be playful, provocative and beautifully made at the same time. The brand was founded in London in 2011 by its creative director, Kasun Ekanayake, whose background combines industrial design with traditional jewellery manufacture.

Kasun creates for people who are unafraid to push against convention. His jewellery has character. It can make you smile, make you look twice and occasionally make you feel a little uncomfortable. That is precisely why it remains memorable.

The Till Death ring carries all of that identity. Its angular garnet, sculpted skulls and precise white gold structure are recognisably Kasun, but the finished design belongs completely to Paul and Leah.

That is the measure of successful bespoke jewellery. You can recognise the designer’s hand without losing sight of the people for whom the piece was made.

Kasun London’s bespoke service allows clients to develop the design, metal and stone choices directly with the studio. Stones can be sourced or specially cut, while each design is refined before being individually crafted and hallmarked.

Paul and Leah hold hands following their proposal, with Leah wearing the bespoke Till Death engagement ring created by Kasun London. Photo courtesy of Paul and Leah

More than my brother

Being a twin is difficult to explain to anyone who has not experienced it.

Paul is my brother, but that word never feels quite big enough. We began life together. We have shared memories, arguments, jokes, ambitions, difficult moments and the quiet knowledge that one of us is never very far from the other.

There is a closeness between twins that does not always need to be spoken aloud. You simply know that another person has been present throughout every version of your life.

Seeing Paul reach this moment with Leah makes me incredibly proud. I love him, I am proud of the man he has become, and I am proud to call him my twin.

The ring is beautiful, but the part that matters most to me is what it represents. Paul has found somebody with whom he wants to build the next chapter of his life.

There is no greater reason to celebrate.

Twin brothers Paul and Andrew Martyniuk, sharing a bond that began long before jewellery became part of their story

When jewellery becomes family

This ring brings several parts of my life together.

It connects my love of jewellery with my love for my brother. It places the work of a designer I admire at the centre of an important family moment. It reminds me that the pieces we discuss as design objects eventually leave the studio and become part of real lives.

Jewellery records things that words sometimes struggle to hold.

A proposal. A promise. A private understanding between two people. The pride of a brother watching someone he loves step into a new chapter.

For Paul and Leah, Till Death marks the beginning of a marriage. For me, it will always carry another layer of meaning. It is the ring my twin brother chose when he asked somebody to share his life.

Paul, I am immensely proud of you, and I could not be happier for you and Leah.

An early design illustration by Paul, showing the coffin-cut garnet, diamond-set skulls and sculptural white gold setting that would become the Till Death engagement ring. Image courtesy of Kasun London

The Jewels Club Take

The most memorable engagement rings are rarely the ones that follow every convention. They are the ones that tell us something truthful about the people who chose them.

Till Death does exactly that.

The coffin-cut garnet, sculpted skulls, diamonds and white gold are striking, but this ring succeeds because its personality feels authentic. It was not designed to resemble anybody else’s idea of romance.

It was created for Paul and Leah.

That individuality is also what makes Kasun London such an important voice in British jewellery. Kasun understands that romance does not have a single visual language. Love can be delicate, dramatic, unconventional, darkly humorous and entirely personal.

For me, this ring is also proof that jewellery can connect every part of a life. Family, friendship, creativity and craftsmanship have all met in one small object.

That is why it matters so much.

A side view of the finished Till Death engagement ring reveals Kasun London’s sculptural setting, diamond-set skulls and pointed detailing along the white gold band

Discover More

Explore the work of Kasun London and learn about its bespoke engagement ring service.

Discover Paul Martyniuk’s photography and retouching through Anarchy Photography.

Scroll the gallery below to see more

Paul and Andrew Martyniuk as children, twin brothers whose closeness and shared story began from the very start