Dancing With The Stars

Find out more about fred, the french jewellery brand we've been seeing on south korean stars

- Caroline Suganda

Fans with a keen eye for detail might have noticed one thing in common between the happy endings of two recent K-dramas: Netflix’s Business Proposal and Disney+’s Crazy Love. Both female characters Shin Ha Ri and Lee Sin Ah, played by Kim Se Jung and Jessica Jung respectively, were proposed to with the same ring. It featured a heart-shaped diamond with a band boasting diamonds in a wave-like pattern all around it. Those who paid even closer attention to the contents of the engagement ring box would have seen the matching wedding band within, sporting the same wave-like pattern. As it turns out, the two rings are designed so that the “waves” align and the halves of the heart meet, forming a complete heart shape, when the rings are worn together.

Although that’s already quite a poetic gesture of union, the ring has even more of a story to tell. The band itself hides a ruby inside it, and next to it, the name of the jeweller who designed it: Fred.

The hidden ruby is actually a nod to a memorable scene from the 1990 film Pretty Woman, where Vivian Ward (played by Julia Roberts) was seen wearing a stunning Fred necklace with 23 heart-shaped rubies. The ring is called the Pretty Woman engagement ring and as you might guess, it is named after the movie.

While Fred is fast becoming a popular brand in South Korea, being worn by celebrities like Son Ye Ji and Park Min Young, the French jeweller’s rise to fame did not happen overnight. It actually has 85 years of illustrious history, which all started with its founder, Fred Samuel.