The Cannelé Collection: Why This Setting Became Our Most Recognised Design

The Cannelé collection is Andrew Geoghegan's signature halo design, built around a fine circle of diamonds framing a larger centre stone. Its defining feature sits underneath: hand-finished flutings that curve from the halo stones into the band, converging at a single point, visible only when the ring is removed.

It's also the piece that changed the direction of Andrew's work entirely, and it started somewhere unexpected: a wooden house in the French countryside, over Christmas.

 

The Cannelé engagement ring, handcrafted in the UK

 

A Christmas in Gensac, Where Cannelé Began

Over Christmas and New Year 2012 into 2013, Andrew and his wife stayed at a friend's house in Gensac, a small village in France. The days were unhurried: making bread, walking their dog Wilbur, sitting by a large open fire in the evenings. It was the kind of holiday with no agenda, and that turned out to matter.

Sketching happened almost by accident, a glass of red wine in one hand, a pencil and sketchbook in the other, sat by the fire. Andrew began playing with geometry: looking down at a setting from above, working through ideas around brilliance and halos.

Halos were something Andrew had avoided up to that point. Every brand seemed to be doing one, and he wanted to be a different kind of designer, not following the same path as everyone else. But sitting by that fire, with no pressure to produce anything, the idea pulled him in anyway. The question that mattered wasn't "how do I make this stone look bigger." It was: what could a halo do if it was about finesse, frame, and perfect execution, rather than size?

From Contrast to Flutings: How the Design Came Together

The starting point was contrast: a larger centre stone, framed by a small, very fine halo. Not to inflate the centre stone, but to create a beautiful concentric circle around it, one shape echoing another.

Looking closely at the outer edges of the halo stones, Andrew noticed a series of small curves that in themselves created a type of frame. Extending that undulating frame outwards turned it into something firstly a protective edge of metal sitting just beyond the halo, and, when the small curves were swept down and underneath the setting, curving toward each other, the beautiful Cannelé setting was created. In doing so, a single fine point was created where the swept surfaces converged.

That point of convergence is a recurring idea in Andrew's work. It can be a point of focus in its own right, and with careful engraving, that's exactly what happens here: every fluting drawn toward one precise point, finished by hand.

Here's the part that makes Cannelé what it is: most of this is invisible from above. The flutings, the point of convergence, the engraving, all of it sits underneath the ring, only visible when it's taken off. Andrew points to Victorian and Art Deco jewellery as a reference for this idea, pieces where the underside of a setting received as much care as the front, somewhere between a functional object and a small sculpture.

The band itself was kept simple: a soft, rounded profile rather than a knife-edge or classic shank, chosen for comfort and a more modern feel. That rounded form flows directly into the setting, carrying the flutings with it.

A Watershed Moment

Cannelé was tested and made in Andrew's workshop, and it looked promising. But presenting it to his stockist at the time felt like a risk. It was another halo, even if a very different one, and Andrew expected it might be seen as just that.

It wasn't. The response surprised him, and looking back, it marked a genuine turning point: a shift from the more contemporary work Andrew had been known for, toward something with a real classic sensibility, while keeping a modern undertone underneath.

Around this time, Andrew found himself listening more closely to what UK clients and retailers actually responded to. The pattern was clear: British buyers rarely want something fully avant-garde. What works is a classic foundation with a subtle twist, a touch of innovation or modernity, rather than a dramatic departure from tradition. Cannelé fit that pattern almost perfectly: a refined halo of fine stones, glorious flutings hidden behind the setting, and a band that widens slightly at the base for extra presence.

This period also changed how Andrew looked at older jewellery. Designs that had lasted a hundred years or more were exquisitely proportioned, durable, balanced, made to be worn and resized for a lifetime. From this point on, those classics became a genuine source of inspiration rather than something to move past.

Cannelé Twist: A Natural Progression

When a design connects the way Cannelé did, the instinct is to build on it, not to copy it but to develop it further. Cannelé Twist is that development.

The centre stone in Cannelé Twist sits within larger halo stones, and the motif shifts from framing to twisting: the flutings come down from the setting, twist, and flow into a soft, rounded band, similar in spirit to the original Cannelé but with more visual presence. The form is closer to two shells cradling the stones before curving away into the band, organic and more substantial than the original.

The detail underneath remains. Like Cannelé, much of Cannelé Twist's character sits below the surface, sculptural and largely hidden from the top view, rewarding a second look.

Pairing Cannelé with a Wedding Ring

A ring like this rarely sits on its own. For most people, it's worn alongside a wedding ring for decades, and Cannelé was designed with that pairing in mind from the start.

The Cannelé diamond-set wedding ring picks up the flutings from the engagement ring, with a curved profile that cups the Cannelé setting closely. The matching styling and band profile mean the two rings absolutely compliment and highlight each other. For anyone who'd rather let the engagement ring carry all the detail, there's also a simple sweep wedding ring with the same rounded band, designed to sit quietly alongside it without competing.

Both are designed to sit flush against the engagement ring. Increasingly, though, couples are choosing not to wear their rings flush, often for comfort. It's worth knowing that wearing the two apart can mean more wear on the engagement ring's setting over time than a flush pairing would.

Cannelé Twist follows the same approach, built around the twist rather than the fluting. Its wedding rings come as a plain twisted band or a stone-set version, where the diamonds follow the twisting form of the ring and sit close to the finger.

You can see the full range of British wedding and eternity rings alongside the engagement ring collections.

Why Cannelé Still Matters

Cannelé still sells. It's still requested, more than a decade after that holiday in Gensac. Andrew doesn't see it as the moment that changed how he approaches new designs directly; the attention to every detail of a piece was already part of how he worked. What Cannelé did was show him that this approach genuinely connects with people.

That doesn't mean every design lands the same way, and Andrew is the first to say so: not everything works, and no design is for everyone. But the way Cannelé was received seemed to mark the moment Andrew became known as a fine jewellery designer who had made his mark.

If you're drawn to the Cannelé setting, you might also find it useful to read our guide to halo and solitaire settings, which places Cannelé alongside the other halo designs in the collection and helps with the choice between a solitaire and a halo.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the Cannelé setting be customised?

Over thirteen years, Cannelé has been made in a huge range of colour combinations, from a blue sapphire centre with a yellow diamond halo to a chocolate diamond centre with a pink sapphire halo, in complementary tones, contrasting tones, or different shades of the same colour. It has also been adapted with different stone cuts, raised settings, and stone-set bands, proving itself a genuinely versatile design.

What metals and gemstones is Cannelé available in?

Cannelé is available in platinum, yellow gold and rose gold, with platinum offered as the premium choice over white gold. Centre and halo stones include sapphire, ruby, pink sapphire, chocolate diamond and white diamond, with lab-grown diamonds available on request. For anything beyond this, Andrew works directly with clients to source what they're after.

What's the difference between Cannelé and Cannelé Twist?

Beyond the design itself, larger halo stones and a heavier, twisting mount, Cannelé Twist is generally the more expensive of the two. Each collection also has its own matching wedding rings, designed to complement its particular setting and band profile.