A gem of a proposal

Love was certainly in the air for mima Senior Curator James Beighton when he got down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend Emily, with a ring chosen from one of the artists whose work is held in mima's collection.

After weeks of planning and on a short trip to Amsterdam James decided to find the perfect place to propose, however, it didn’t quite go to plan.

James said: 'We spent the day wandering around the canals in the old town looking for the perfect little restaurant, but as time went by and we got closer to the touristy area we ended up in a pub which was far from what I had pictured.

'After a slightly disastrous lunch involving an undercooked burger we headed back to our aptly named hotel The Love Inn, where I got down on one knee and thankfully Emily said yes.'

Emily added: 'I was completely surprised by James’ proposal, he kept the secret so well and I am truly delighted.'

The gold ring was created by New Zealand based artist Karl Fritsch and features an antique base complemented by original antique diamonds.

About the ring, James said: 'I didn’t have a ring with me as we have been saving to buy a house but we knew it would be designed by the artist Karl Fritsch, whose work features in mima's collection.

'That evening at the opening of an exhibition in the city we saw the unique Fritsch ring on display, fell completely in love with it and knew it was the one.'

Now back home James and Emily plan to continue their house search in Saltburn and hope to start planning their wedding next year.

Whilst curating the upcoming jewellery exhibition James has enjoyed exploring the relationship people have with different types of jewellery and hearing the stories behind each piece.

'Jewellery can easily link major milestones in people’s lives and I think seeing the story behind some of the pieces here in Middlesbrough is fascinating' he added.

James has been very busy building the jewellery collection, which comprises over 200 objects and represents artist-made jewellery from the 1970s onwards. The exhibition is one of the most comprehensive in this country – comparable to those held by the Crafts Council, the V&A Museum and the National Museums of Scotland.

The new display will be the first time that such a comprehensive selection of this work has been seen by mima visitors and will go on display later this year in a new permanent gallery.

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