The Man Who Designed The Iconic iPhone Has Now Designed A Diamond Ring That Has No Metal

When you look at the design of the iPhone, or pretty much any other Apple device in the last two decades for that matter, you're looking at the work of design chief Jony Ive. And now, the legendary Apple executive has taken his talents in a different direction; jewelry.

Jony Ive with Tim Cook - Apple

Just a few short years after Ive joined Apple, he was made senior VP of industrial design in 1997. His first big assignment was to design the iMac. That was a roaring success, and eventually paved way to him having a large effect on the look of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad years later. Heck, he even published a photobook on product design, showcasing his work on Apple's products, so you can be sure he knows what he's talking about.

Now, Ive has taken his understanding of materials and their combinations and partnered with industrial designer Marc Newson to create a diamond ring. Of course, most designers creating a ring would probably start with some sort of metal as the base and set precious stones into it. But Ive and Newson figured they'd just make a diamond ring that's only diamond and nothing more.

Also Read: Apple's Lead Designer Believes People Are "Misusing" Their iPhone By Constantly Checking It

The (RED) Diamond Ring is part of the (RED) auction the two set up five years ago, as a way to raise funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries. The ring will be auctioned off by Sotheby's and is a one of a kind piece.

The ring reflects the obsession with simplicity in design of both creators, who prefer to transform raw materials into products with minimal working on them. As such, the (RED) ring will have no traditional metal setting. Instead a block of diamond will be cut into a ring shape with thousands of facets, some as small as several hundred micrometers. To cut the interior of the ring in a way the diamond won't scratch the wearer's finger, it will be cylindrically cut out using a micrometer-thick water jet with an attached laser.

The finished ring will have between 2000-3000 facets, something never seen before on a single piece. It'll be created by Diamond Foundry, a carbon neutral diamond producer, using proprietary technology, and will be made to fit the wearer that buys the ring.

Sotheby's expects the ring to fetch anything between $150-250 thousand dollars, or between Rs 1.09 crore to Rs 1.81 crore when it goes up for auction on December 5.