Designer Spotlight: Mimi So

Modern, timeless, wearable: Essentials for choosing a wedding and engagement ring, and essential design principles for jewelry designer Mimi So. "You can wear my designs every day with every sort of lifestyle," says the New York-based designer {cited}. Each piece is "created for what global women want...wearability from day into evening, and styling for vintage and couture casuals" {cited}. This Mimi So designer wedding ring has all of those characteristics, which makes it the perfect choice for the international modern woman whose wedding jewelry must match her lifestyle, which may include swift transitions from business meetings, to soccer games, to cocktail and office parties, to lazy Sunday mornings poolside. Crafted of solid platinum, this softly squared wedding band is set with a half circle of 13 princess-cut natural white diamonds of high-quality clarity and color. The unique shape of the band not only ensures that the sparkle will be seen by all, but also identifies this ring with the cutting-edge modern designs of Mimi So. Ms. So grew up among sparkling gemstones, precious metals, and handmade fine jewelry. Her parents owned three jewelry stores in New York's Chinatown, and as a young girl, she spent countless hours weighing and polishing stones, serving coffee, wiping down counters, and observing the craftsmanship of the fashion-forward jewels her parents designed. Her downtime was spent daydreaming of the beautiful jewelry she would create for kings and queens {cited} and dressing up 70s style, complete with her mom's white vinyl boots and blue eye shadow {cited}. As a young adult, Ms. So pursued the arts. She graduated from Parson's School of Design and landed a job as a graphics designer for an ad agency. A family illness brought her back to the jewelry business in New York. She managed the family store for several years, ushering the business into the 20th century by implementing innovative marketing strategies {cited}. In the early 1990s, Ms. So craved a greater challenge. In 1992, she invested her entire savings into a bold move to open a boutique in Manhattan's Diamond District. At first, "it was really tough" {cited}. Overlooked by wholesalers and unwelcome by retailers, she had to rely upon her own ingenuity and dedication to prove herself worthy of the Diamond District distinction. Eventually, her dawn-til-dusk practice and commitment to matchless customer service softened the rough edges of her "intrusion" into the male-dominated, old-school ways of the Orthodox district. Wholesalers began to take her seriously, and she eventually carved a respected niche in New York's fine jewelry industry. At first, she focused solely on designing bespoke bridal jewelry. With all her available capital tied up in overhead, Ms. So relied solely on the generous referrals of her satisfied customers to succeed. She developed a deep reverence and joy for the process of helping couples make their wedding dreams come true. To Mimi, those years serve as "the most intimate times shared with clients," many of whom remain her friends to this day {cited}. Her big break came when David Bowie and Iman commissioned her to design and manufacture their wedding jewelry in 1993. It wasn't long before Ms. So began designing full collections. Soon after, her pieces were worn by Carrie, Samantha, and Charlotte on the sets of Sex & the City {cited}. A strategic partnership in 2004 with Richemont, "the conglomerate that owns Cartier and several other international luxury brands" {cited}, successfully launched the Mimi So brand internationally. In 2007, Mimi So bought out Richemont's share in the business, and has stood at the helm of her successful international brand ever since. Today, every Mimi So piece is made in-house, hand crafted and carved by dedicated New York craftsmen who work alongside designers in the same building. "We are completely about being united," says Ms. So {cited}. And isn't UNITY what it's all about as you hunt for the perfect wedding band for your very special day? If you are a woman who appreciates sophisticated style combined with the highest quality in a timeless modern design, then look no further than this gorgeous Mimi So designer wedding band!