Toi et Moi Ring vs Bypass Ring: Meaning and Differences

A toi et moi ring has two main stones set side by side, and its French name means you and me. A bypass ring is named for its band instead, whose two ends sweep past each other, and it can hold one stone or two. The two names overlap when a bypass band carries a pair. Mazimo, a Dubai jeweller, makes two bypass rings, each with one main stone.

Sources checked 20 October 2026. We read the auction house's own lot page and several GIA pages. We could not open several museum sites and found no museum or encyclopaedia entry that dates the first toi et moi ring. One statement below, on how one seller uses the words, rests on a seller page read on 24 October 2026, and we did not check other sellers' pages.

What is a toi et moi ring? Meaning and name

A toi et moi ring puts a pair of gemstones next to each other, and GIA's engagement ring settings guide links the pairing with two people joining. The French name means roughly you and me.

GIA adds that the pair can be alike or different in shape, size or colour, that these rings are often set in claws or a bezel, and that they can hold diamonds, coloured gemstones or both.

Google's UAE suggestions on 20 October 2026 pair the name with a birthstone, a wedding band and lab grown. A coloured birthstone beside a diamond fits GIA's description above; we found no GIA advice on pairing the two.

Toi et moi ring vs bypass ring: what is the difference?

A toi et moi is named for its two stones set side by side, and a bypass ring is named for its band. A bypass ring has a band whose ends pass each other instead of meeting, and it may hold one stone or two.

Usage overlaps. At least one seller says a toi et moi usually sits on a bypass band and calls two stone ring the plain name for the same design. GIA's settings guide lists toi et moi as a style but never mentions bypass. We found no standard that fixes these words, so the table shows how we use them.

Question	Toi et moi ring	Bypass ring
Named for	Its two stones	Its band
Main stones	Two, side by side	One or two
Band	Any band; at least one seller favours a bypass band	Open at the front, ends sweeping past each other
In our 48 diamond rings	None: no ring has two main stones	Two: Oval Marquise Bypass Ring, Pear Bypass Solitaire Ring

A three stone ring is a third idea, a centre between two smaller side stones. See our three stone guide.

Napoleon, Josephine and the toi et moi ring: what the record shows

The record is thinner than the story. The only detailed source we could read, an auction catalogue entry, cites nothing earlier than an inventory it dates to 1870, which we have not seen. The story usually told is that Napoleon Bonaparte gave Josephine de Beauharnais a toi et moi ring with a pear shaped diamond and a pear shaped sapphire when they became engaged in 1796.

The ring offered as that gift was lot 82 in Osenat's sale of the Prince Victor Napoléon and Princess Clémentine of Belgium collection, held at Fontainebleau on 24 March 2013. The entry describes a late 18th century gold ring with a pear cut diamond and a pear cut sapphire set toi et moi, names General Bonaparte as the giver, and traces it through Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, then by descent. Its history paragraph adds that the ring later appears in the collections of a Prince Napoléon, without saying which prince or when.

The only evidence it gives is later than the gift: on the catalogue's account, an inventory of the Farnborough pieces, which it dates to 1870 and we could not check, lists a sapphire and diamond ring given by Bonaparte to Josephine for their engagement. For the engagement itself the catalogue uses a conditional: Bonaparte is said to have announced it on 24 February 1796, and they married on 9 March.

The lot page also quotes a Malmaison commentary on a simple Josephine ring. It says her engagement ring, richer and with two precious stones, would belong to the imperial house's collections. That conditional is the commentary's, and the quoted lines do not name this lot.

GIA's settings guide tells the story as settled fact and places the style's rise in the early 19th century. The catalogue hedges only the announcement date and, inside the Malmaison commentary, where her engagement ring is kept; it states the gift itself flatly.

Our reading: this is a tradition that the catalogue traces to an inventory it dates to 1870, and not to a document from 1796.

What our two bypass rings look like and measure

We make two bypass rings. In the pictures on both ring pages the band does not close in a plain circle at the front: its two ends sweep past each other beside the stone.

Ring	Centre stone	Ratio (L ÷ W)	Share of finger	Setting
Oval Marquise Bypass Ring	Oval, 1.5 ct, about 9.6 × 6.4 mm	about 1.50	about 39%	Claw-set centre, marquise diamonds along the sweep of the band, small round diamonds in a row beneath the centre
Pear Bypass Solitaire Ring	Pear, 3 ct, about 12.09 × 7.61 mm	about 1.59	about 46%	Claw-set centre on a bypass band, no side stones

Sizes are the about figures on the ring pages, so the ratios are about too. Ratio is length divided by width: 9.6 ÷ 6.4 is 1.50, and 12.09 ÷ 7.61 is 1.59. Share of finger is width divided by about 16.55 mm, the inside diameter of a UAE size 52 ring (52 ÷ 3.14159), so about the width of the finger it fits: 6.4 ÷ 16.55 is about 39 percent, and 7.61 ÷ 16.55 about 46 percent.

GIA's pages give different pear ratio figures, one a preference and one what most stones measure: its pear page of 13 March 2018 says many experts prefer about 1.50 to 1.75, and its shape guide of 21 November 2025 says most pears fall between 1.3 and 1.4. Our pear guide lists the ranges; the Pear Bypass Solitaire Ring's 1.59 sits inside the first and above the second.

Neither bypass ring has a camera try-on; to see how the band sits on a hand, ask us on WhatsApp or book an appointment.

How wide are two stones across the finger?

Set touching across the finger, two stones take about twice the span of one. The sources we read do not say whether a toi et moi lies across or along the finger, so the table shows the across case, which we can calculate. The table is arithmetic from four of our centre stones, not a ring we make.

Two stones the size of the centre of	Stone (L × W, mm)	Length across the finger (2 × L)	Width across the finger (2 × W)
Emerald Faceted Ring	7.78 × 5.46	15.56 mm, about 94%	10.92 mm, about 66%
Oval Halo Pavé Ring	8.26 × 5.72	16.52 mm, about 100%	11.44 mm, about 69%
Oval Marquise Bypass Ring	9.6 × 6.4	19.2 mm, about 116%	12.8 mm, about 77%
Pear Bypass Solitaire Ring	12.09 × 7.61	24.18 mm, about 146%	15.22 mm, about 92%

Percentages divide each span by 16.55 mm, the width of a finger that fits a UAE size 52 ring. The stones are assumed to touch, so a real ring is wider still. Above 100 percent, the row is longer than the finger is wide, so the stones would follow its curve or overhang its sides.

Our reading: width across the finger is the easier fit for larger stones, and length across the finger suits smaller ones.

Choosing the two stones for a toi et moi ring

Our reading: if the two stones differ in shape, give them the same width along the finger so their edges line up.

• Same shape, same size. Two ovals give equal weight and no single centre. We found no GIA rule for matching a pair.
• Two shapes. The centres of our Oval Halo Pavé Ring and Pear Halo Pavé Ring are both about 5.72 mm wide, and about 8.26 mm and 9.01 mm long. Set with their lengths across the finger, an oval and a pear that size would span about 17.27 mm (8.26 + 9.01), about 104 percent of a size 52 finger's 16.55 mm (17.27 ÷ 16.55), a little wider than the finger. Both being about 5.72 mm wide along the finger, their edges would be level.
• Two pears. GIA calls the point the most vulnerable part, suggests a V-shaped claw or a bezel, and says tip direction is personal. See our pear guide and oval against pear guide.

On colour, GIA's settings guide gives one number, and only for three stone rings: side stones within about two grades of the centre. We found none for a pair. GIA's fancy shape buying guide tells buyers to ask for the grading report of every diamond on their shortlist, so ask for one on each stone. Our reading: compare the two stones in daylight. Our GIA report guide and IGI report guide show what to look for.

A toi et moi can hold natural or lab grown diamonds, because the setting does not decide the kind. We can set either kind in our rings, so tell us which you prefer. Our reading: a seller should say which kind each stone is. See our lab grown and natural guide.

A sapphire beside a diamond, as in the ring the Napoleon story describes, adds a hardness gap. GIA's durability page puts corundum, which includes sapphire, at 9 on the Mohs scale, says a diamond at 10 is many times harder, and advises not storing a diamond next to other gems because it could scratch them.

East west engagement ring: one stone set across the finger

An east west engagement ring sets one elongated stone across the finger instead of along it. A toi et moi is a different idea: it has two stones, not one.

Three of our rings set the stone sideways: the Emerald Faceted Ring at 7.78 mm across the finger (about 47 percent of a size 52 finger, 7.78 ÷ 16.55), the Radiant Signet Ring at 9.05 mm (about 55 percent) and the Baguette Signet Ring at 8.30 mm (about 50 percent). Our marquise guide covers the same turn for a marquise.

Wearing a two stone or bypass ring: claws, size and a wedding band

A two stone ring has two settings to look after, and GIA's advice for any engagement ring applies to both. GIA's care page suggests a claw check about every six months and taking the ring off where it could catch on clothing or be knocked. It adds that pointed shapes such as pear and marquise chip more easily, so two pears mean two points to protect.

• Size. GIA's sizing page says fingers swell in the heat and shrink in the cold, that high or low humidity can swell or shrink them too, and, in a caption on an 18.70 ct ring, that an accurate size is critical for such a large stone. It says a twisted band is more difficult to resize, and a triple band on a ring that nods to vintage toi et moi rings would take more work. It does not name bypass bands, so ask how yours can be resized. The first resizing of a Mazimo ring is complimentary; see our resizing guide and UAE sizing guide.
• Wedding band. GIA's page on wearing both rings gives the usual order, band on first, and does not cover wide heads or open-front bands, so ask how a straight band will sit. Our wedding band guide and which hand guide help.

Toi et moi ring in Dubai: what exists at Mazimo

Today none of our 48 diamond rings has two main stones, and our ring designer's five settings (solitaire, pavé, halo, three stone and Marquise Shoulders) do not include one. The nearest are the two bypass rings, three sideways rings and the three stone rings.

If you want a toi et moi, message us on WhatsApp with the two shapes and sizes in mind and ask what we can do; we promise no design here. Our rings are made to order in 18K gold in UAE sizes 46 to 62, and the ring designer previews a ring at true size. Each ring's page shows its price, a designed ring's price is given on WhatsApp, and our cost guide explains what moves it.

Browse the bypass rings and the three stone rings, or visit our boutique at Al Manal Center in Deira, minutes from the Gold Souk. Whoever you ask, bring four questions: how many millimetres is each stone, is there a report for each stone, how is each point protected, and how can the band be resized?

Questions people ask

What does toi et moi mean on a ring?

It is French for you and me. A toi et moi ring sets a pair of gemstones next to each other, a pairing GIA links with two people joining, and the two can be alike or different in shape, size or colour.

Is a toi et moi ring the same as a bypass ring?

Not exactly. Toi et moi names the pair of stones and bypass names a band whose ends pass each other. A bypass band can carry one stone or two, so the words overlap.

Is the Napoleon and Josephine toi et moi story true?

We could not confirm it from a document of 1796. The 2013 auction catalogue hedges the announcement date, and the earliest record it cites is an inventory it dates to 1870, which we could not check. GIA states it without a hedge, and we found no earlier source, so we call it a tradition.

Can a toi et moi ring be lab grown?

Yes: a toi et moi can hold natural or lab grown diamonds, because the setting does not decide the kind. We can set either kind in our rings, so tell us which you prefer. Ask for a report on each stone and compare the two in daylight.

Where can I find a toi et moi ring in Dubai?

None of our 48 diamond rings has two main stones today, and our two bypass rings each hold one main stone. Message us on WhatsApp with the shapes and sizes you want and ask what we can do.

At Mazimo. Our ring designer previews a ring at true size but has no two stone setting, so message us on WhatsApp with your two shapes and ask what we can make. Every ring is 18K gold, hallmarked in Dubai and delivered insured across the UAE at no charge. For related reading, see our settings guide and our bezel against claw guide.