Joséphine 1796
not every promise needs to be spoken loudly.
some are folded into paper, and carried for years.
some are set in gold, and worn every day.
this one begins the way all old letters do,
with someone, somewhere, deciding
that waiting for you was worth it.
Vivienne Jacque, for Joséphine 1796
A ring built on waiting, not scrolling
In March 1796, Napoleon married Joséphine and gave her a toi et moi ring: two pear-shaped stones, a sapphire and a diamond, set side by side. It wasn't the grandest ring of its time. It may have been the most meaningful.
Through years of war and distance, he wrote her hundreds of letters, real ink on paper, each taking weeks to arrive. No read receipts. No "last seen." Just words worth waiting for.
That's the love we want to celebrate, the kind built on waiting, on choosing each other, again and again.
Start where you actually are
Not "for him" and "for her." Just two honest starting points. Both lead everywhere else on this page.
Just starting to plan?
Budget, timing, how to find her size without asking, and how design-led rings actually compare to a solitaire.
Begin with the Guide →Know exactly what she'll love?
Go straight to design: vintage, botanical, minimalist, colour-stone, or a custom heirloom remake.
Browse by Design Story →We're not going to hand you a brilliant-cut solitaire and call it a decision. A ring should read like the two of you, which is why every Joséphine 1796 piece starts with a design language, not a diamond size.
Five ways to tell your story
Everything worth knowing, before you ask
Real answers to the questions every couple has in India: budget, diamonds, sizing, and the difference between a promise, a proposal, and an engagement ring.
Where the tradition actually comes from
From Roman betrothal rings to how engagement rings entered Indian courtship culture.
Read the StoryPromise vs. proposal vs. engagement ring
What each one signals, when to gift it, and whether one ring can do double duty.
See the ComparisonHow to actually choose a design
Our framework: her style, the design language, the stone, then the budget, in that order.
Get the FrameworkWhat to spend, honestly
Realistic India price bands, and why the "2 months' salary" rule is a 1930s ad slogan.
See Budget BandsDiamonds, and what else works
The 4Cs in plain language, lab-grown vs. natural, and coloured-stone alternatives.
Learn the BasicsHer size, without her knowing
The borrow-a-ring method, sizing charts, and why resizing is a safety net, not a risk.
Get the MethodPlanning the proposal itself
India-specific venue ideas, family etiquette, and timing it around the year that suits you.
Start PlanningKeeping it beautiful for decades
Cleaning, storage, insurance, and our resizing and lifetime service policy.
See Care GuideEvery question, in one place
The full FAQ and glossary, built for quick answers, not endless scrolling.
Browse FAQThe Joséphine 1796 Series
A series made with real couples, retelling their own love story as if it were 1796. Letters instead of chats. Waiting instead of scrolling. One photograph instead of a hundred.
Built from three things every couple already has: a self-shot video, older photographs from before anyone was watching, and their own words: a line they said, a promise they kept.
“Perhaps lasting love isn't about finding someone exactly like you. It's about finding someone whose world fits beautifully beside your own.”
Where the colour lives
The website stays in this quieter, warm-neutral register throughout. The ring box will carry its own deeper green (exact shade still to be finalized separately from the site palette), reserved for the box, seal, and ribbon: the one moment meant to feel unmistakably Joséphine.
Ready to write your own chapter?
Book a private, one-on-one consultation, in-store or by video, with a Joséphine 1796 stylist.
