What is a “Toi et Moi” ring and how do you choose it? What does it mean? And why is it called that? Here’s what you need to know about the two-gem ring ♦︎

Do you want to give an unforgettable ring? Would you like to receive a ring that is worth double? Are you looking for a ring that symbolizes love as a couple? Then, probably, the choice will fall on a Toi et Moi type ring. It will certainly be appreciated (also because it costs more than a normal solitaire). The reason? It’s simple: it’s a double ring. But which also has a particular symbolic meaning.

But do you know why it is called in this way the ring that has two opposing stones?

Anello You and Me con diamanti bianco e orange — You and Me ring with white and orange diamonds

Here is the explanation. But, first of all, it is good to tell that the birth of this type of jewelry is even attributed to Napoleon. To be precise, this ring shape is believed to have been born with the gift of Napoleon to his beloved Josephine, in 1776. The ring was in gold, with a sapphire set opposite to a diamond. Perhaps for this reason the engagement rings Toi et Moi were much appreciated during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Even today, however, they are appreciated a lot.

The meaning of Toi et Moi, which in the US and Britain becomes You and Me, indicates the eternal union of two different souls.

Anello moi et toi della linea Cupido — De Beers, “Moi et Toi” ring from the Cupido line

There isn’t, however, a rule concerning the stones: they can be two diamonds, or they can be gems of different colors. Even the type of frame varies. Beware, however, the choice: the rings Toi et Moi are very appreciated when their stones are of a certain size, but of course also their price doubles. But choosing a ring of this kind with stones that are too small makes little sense: it is precisely the opposing gems that must be seen. Rather, it is better to choose less precious stones, but with greater weight.

Gigi Hadid wears Glam’Azone ring, the Gloria double ring and an exceptional pink and yellow diamond stone Toi&Moi heart-shaped ring — Moi & toi ring by Messika worn by Gigi Hadid

Napoleon’s Ring
According to tradition, Napoleon Bonaparte was the first to use the “toi et moi” ring as a gift to Josephine de Beauharnais, a French noblewoman and the emperor’s first wife from 1796 to 1809. Josephine, six years older than Napoleon, was a widow with two children, but she had bewitched the emperor. The ring she gave him featured two pear-cut stones: a sapphire and a diamond. Over the years, it changed hands several times until being sold at auction in 2013 for $1.17 million. In 1796, Napoleon had the words “You and I, forever” engraved on the shank of the engagement ring for his future wife Josephine. Hence the name, and the growing popularity of this type of setting, which reached its peak between the 19th and 20th centuries.

Anello donato da Napoleone a Josephine — Ring given by Napoleon to Josephine

Another famous “toi et moi” ring is the engagement ring given by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, later President of the United States, to his future wife, Jackie Bouvier, better known as Jackie Kennedy. The ring was made by Van Cleef & Arpels and featured a 2.84-carat emerald and a 2.88-carat diamond, both emerald-cut, with additional diamonds and baguette-cut emeralds on the sides. Queen Margret of Denmark also received one with two six-carat square-cut colorless diamonds, also made by Van Cleef & Arpels, in 1967.