A Highgate jewellery designer is challenging gender norms one engagement ring at a time.
Genevieve Schwartz, who lives in Archway and has a studio in Highgate, launched a line of men's engagement rings last month after struggling to find similar products on the market.
The jeweller explained several of her female friends wanted to propose to their male partners but could not find a ring suitable for the occasion.
Genevieve told the Ham&High: "So many of my friends are proposing to their boyfriends, and it's obvious gender roles are changing and it doesn't have to be the man who proposes, and men are also proposing to other men.
"Also, it seems odd that women wear a ring as a symbol of their commitment when they're engaged, but men don't. Why wouldn't both partners want to show that they're 'taken'?"
She added: “My boyfriend proposed to me while we were on holiday in Devon, and when I got home the first question everyone asked me was ‘are you going to make him a ring too?’
"I thought to myself, ‘you’re right, it’s a modern world, why am I the only one wearing a ring?’ Also, he bought me a nice ring, why shouldn’t he get one just as nice in return?”
Genevieve's products are available on her website: www.genevieveschwartz.com
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