Inside Somhale’s R2.9m wedding ring consultation

In another talked-about moment, episode two of the Showmax Original Somizi & Mohale: The Union left jaws on the floor when celebrity choreographer Somizi Mhlongo and his husband Mohale Motaung (Somhale) had their wedding band consultation with Kealeboga and Ursula Pule of Nungu Diamonds.

This is because the pair laid diamonds with price tags of up to R2.9 million before Somhale to choose from.

According to Showmax, the Pules founded their company Nungu Diamonds in 2013 and have been widely praised for Somizi and Mohale’s unique wedding bands, not least by Somizi himself, who wrote on Instagram: “We still can’t believe how @nungudiamonds were able to bring our vision of our rings to life just as we had imagined them. Not only am I proud of what you did for us but it’s so refreshing to see young black folks owning and taking up space in the mining and diamond industry.”

Showmax recently sat down with the Pules to find out more about how they created the pieces.

Instead of only selling pre-designed or wholesale pieces, Nungu Diamonds first invite their clients to get up close and personal with their diamonds.

“We call this the Nungu Diamonds Experience. So Somizi and Mohale came to see us, they got to see and touch the diamonds first, and then from that conversation they decided on the design, which my wife spearheaded,” said Kealeboga.

What the diamonds represent

“When designing the couple’s rings, everything stemmed from their personalities, which were the inspiration for the designs. Mohale and Somizi have two different personalities, although they may be similar in certain ways.

“Mohale was very much involved in the design. He requested a different design and one that was rose gold in colour. I initially showed him something I had created before. He loved it, but requested that we take the design a bit further. So when I looked at the design, I thought to myself, when two people get married, their lives interweave, no matter how different they are to each other. And that’s what their wedding bands represent,” explained Ursula, who designed the wedding bands.

“Their rings look like woven baskets, and that’s because the rings are made up of diamonds in two different shapes – round-cut diamonds, and baguette diamonds. Together, they help create that interwoven look, representing two different human beings that have come together,” she added.

The pair went on to reveal that it took them three weeks just to set the diamonds.

“What we did is take apart the two-carat diamond idea and designed it in a layout, or pattern, that speaks to the individual. This is a good example of the design taking precedence over the size of the diamond,” explained Ursula.

“It’s not about having the biggest diamond,” agreed Kealeboga, before adding: “It’s what you do with it that matters.”

The engraving

“We decided to write Mohale on Somizi’s ring and vice versa, because they now belong to one another. The couple got to choose the font of the engraving themselves, which is just one of the ways we offer a bespoke experience to our clients,” said Ursula.

When Somizi and Mohale opened the jewellery boxes to see the rings for the first time, Ursula says they were “extremely pleased”.

Nungu Diamonds are also the geniuses behind Dineo and Zothile Langa’s wedding rings (popularly known as Dineo Moeketsi and Solo).

Check out a trailer for episode two below:

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