Joan Vassos Ends “Golden Bachelorette” Journey with Sparkly Engagement Ring Boasting 58 Diamonds (Exclusive)
Joan Vassos is are engaged! Celebrity jewelry designer Neil Lane shares with PEOPLE the meaningful story behind her sparkler
Joan Vassos is are engaged! Celebrity jewelry designer Neil Lane shares with PEOPLE the meaningful story behind her sparkler Neil Lane Couture; ABC/Ricky Middlesworth Joan Vassos and her engagement ring:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/golden-bachelorette-joan-vassos-engagement-ring-3-111324-f5ca8144eb454cb0901d266ddade2aa8.jpg "Joan Vassos Golden Bachelorette Engagement Ring")
Warning: this story contains spoilers from the Nov. 13 season finale of The Golden Bachelorette.
Joan Vassos made Bachelor Nation history when she joined as the first-ever Golden Bachelorette. So of course, her engagement ring had to be one for the books.
In The Golden Bachelorette season finale, which aired on ABC on Nov. 13, Joan, 61, said “I do” to contestant Chock Chapple, who proposed with a custom Neil Lane Couture diamond ring.
To be exact, her new bling is a handmade emerald-cut diamond platinum ring set with two tapered diamond baguettes flanking a whopping 56 round brilliant cut diamonds, arranged in Lane’s signature style.
In total, the sparkler weighs 4 carats. It also features Lane’s signature, which is a design staple for the celebrity jewelry designer, who's been crafting memorable bespoke pieces for the Bachelor franchise for decades.
“To celebrate their shared future, I knew exactly the ring design that would perfectly symbolize Joan and Chock’s undeniable connection,” Lane tells PEOPLE.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Neil Lane Couture Joan Vassos' engagement ring
When creating the ring, Lane, who had met Joan before her debut on The Golden Bachelorette, was inspired by bride-to-be's "sophistication,” “elegance,” and her "integrity," a characteristic that he said really showed when she made an unforeseeable exit as a contestant on the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor in the third week, due to a family-related matter. (In The Women Tell-All episode in November 2023, she revealed that her daughter experienced postpartum depression following the birth of her baby.)
“I wanted to make a ring that was really classic,” Lane explains, adding that he didn’t want to necessarily go over the top with diamonds (though he reveals Joan's rock is one of the “bigger rings” he’s made), but rather display the jewels in an elevated “harmonious” way. He also drew some influence from the 1920s Art Deco period.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Gilles Mingasson/Disney Joan Vassos and Chock
Related: Who Is the Golden Bachelorette? All About Joan Vassos
Chock was “besotted” with the design, explains Lane, and knew it was the one.
“He looked at the ring, he thought of her,” he says. “It was just one of those things that was kismet. I think he understood the vibrations and the energy that went into that ring.”
Lane has nothing but love and well-wishes for the couple as they embark on their new chapter together.
“This ring’s show-stopping beauty perfectly encapsulates Joan’s journey as the first-ever Golden Bachelorette and I wish her and Chock nothing but the best as they move into the next phase of their relationship together," Lane says.
He calls their “magical” journey the perfect “trifecta: the couple, the ring and the great love.”
