As the world knows, on October 20, 2017, Robert Pattinson and the artist and designer, Emily Andrews (better known as the cat-themed fashion designer, Empaw), became engaged after dating for almost three years. The news was met with an outpouring of congratulations, as not only is Pattinson an A-list movie star, but so is Andrews. The two have been friends since college and worked together on numerous fashion-related projects before teaming up to launch their own label, aptly named Doja. As you’ll soon discover, this pair is anything but ordinary!
A Diamond Digger And An Art Collector
In terms of their personal lives, it’s fair to say that Robert and Andrews are pretty conventional. The couple first met in New York City during fashion week in 2014, when they were both guests at the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Salons. According to Vogue, there is a story behind this meeting—and it has a happy ending.
While most of us are familiar with the city’s fashion scene, perhaps less well known is the fact that the skyscrapers there are home to some of the world’s most prestigious art collections. This includes the diamond empire of Harry Winston, whose founder purchased the entire contents of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for his private collection back in the 1930s. Today, these treasures are on display at the Met, as part of an ongoing exhibition called, simply, Harry Winston.
Thanks to this fascinating connection, it was at the Met that Robert and Andrews first connected. According to Vogue, when Harry Winston heard that the CFDA wanted to do a fashion-themed exhibition, he reached out to the association to suggest an artist he could collaborate with. This was eventually followed by the call that changed both their lives forever.
The Collaboration That Brought Emily And Robert Together
As we’ve established, it was the Met that brought Robert and Andrews together. Soon after their initial meeting during fashion week, the two began collaborating on a collection of wearable art. The resulting pieces were displayed at the CFDA and won the designers many fans. This included Harry Winston, who was so impressed by the collection that he asked the couple to design a bespoke diamond to celebrate his 80th birthday. What’s more, the legendary jewelry house subsequently purchased a one-of-a-kind diamond necklace in the design of the collaboration.
While this might sound like an ordinary and fairly straightforward story, it gets more interesting from here. At the time, both Robert and Andrews were still single. After their Met collaboration, however, they began working on their personal lives as well as their professional ones. This was followed by their serendipitous meeting at a Louis Vuitton store in Mayfair, London, where they were both celebrating Emmy’s birthday. According to the designer, they randomly bumped into each other a second time at an airport, where again they spent time catching up on life and work. It was then, in the summer of 2017, that the couple decided to take the plunge and officially become a couple. By this point, they had already spent several nights together in New York and were happy to make the city their home base.
Doja: A Diamond In The Rough
With this exciting news, let’s take a quick step back and take a look at what is arguably the most interesting, and arguably the most unusual, jewelry brand to emerge from the 2010s.
Doja was founded in 2014 by Robert and Andrews. At the time, the pair were looking for a way to merge their two most important loves: diamonds and fashion. After an informal Pinterest study that revealed the social media platform’s users were more than twice as likely to buy diamonds as those on the platform previously believed, they decided to channel this insight into creating a diamond brand that would speak to millennial women. As Andrews later explained to Vogue, the goal was to create pieces that were “tough and sophisticated.”
To this end, they drew inspiration from their passions for art and fashion. They looked to artists like Harry Winston and the late Isabella Blow for designing the simple yet stunning diamonds that define Doja. When it comes to manufacturing diamonds, the brand has gone above and beyond to ensure the highest quality. This includes ensuring that all their diamonds are conflict-free, and also that their processes are diamond-friendly. The couple also make sure to buy diamonds that are responsibly sourced and cut to the highest quality. In a word, if you have a taste for diamonds, you probably know what Doja is and what it is not. But, for those wondering, no, it is not a jewelry website.
Where Does All This Lead?
It’s not yet noon and you’re probably wondering where this is going. Ah, good question. The point is that while it is always great to celebrate a happy couple’s engagement, what makes this news even more interesting is that the two seem to be completely suited for each other. While it would probably be a bit cliché to write off Robert and Andrews’ story as “perfect,” it’s also probably safe to assume that there were plenty of challenges along the way. Especially since, as we mentioned, their personal lives and work relationship are anything but ordinary.
It is important to remember, however, that not everything in life is as it seems. For instance, it has recently been revealed by Harper’s Bazaar that, before they officially became engaged, the couple were already involved in an “ambitious” secret wedding ceremony. According to the magazine, the ceremony took place in a “desert oasis” in New Mexico and was only attended by “family, friends and a few chosen celebrities.” While we can’t know for sure, it certainly seems that this union was anything but conventional.
Hopefully, this article will shed some light on what is arguably the most interesting—and most exciting—development in the jewelry industry since the 2010s.