A ring created in Japan by a Japanese jewelry artist

Founded by Maya in Los Angeles in 2003, ileava jewelry has been based in Tokyo since 2007. Maya designs and creates the jewelry in Omotesando. You can speak with Maya and our core staff in English, whether you are choosing an engagement ring, looking for a gift, or discussing custom work.

For many international customers, it matters that the ring comes from the place where they plan to propose. It is not simply a ring purchased during a trip. It is jewelry created in Tokyo by a Japanese artist, and it can become part of how they remember Japan.

Water, branches, sprouts, and sakura appear in some of Maya's designs. These references are not applied as decoration after the ring has been designed. They are part of the lines, textures, and forms through which she works.

Our store is within walking distance of Omotesando, Meiji-jingumae, Harajuku, and Shibuya stations. Many international customers find themselves back in this part of Tokyo more than once during their stay.

Some people commission a ring. Others need to see it first.

Many of our customers commission a bespoke design months in advance. Others need to see the finished ring in front of them—and find what they were looking for among our one-of-a-kind engagement rings available now.

In more than twenty years of working with customers, we have learned that many people need to see a finished ring before they can choose. It lets them take in the stone, design, metal, texture, scale, and proportions as one piece.

Choosing this way can be every bit as personal as commissioning a ring. For many people, seeing the finished piece is what makes the decision possible.

We try to show as much of our available jewelry online as we can, but we are a small operation, and more finished pieces can be seen at the store.

Choose before your trip and collect the ring in Tokyo

If you see a one-of-a-kind ring online, you can purchase it before traveling and collect it from our Omotesando store. The hardest part is then settled before the trip begins, and you do not have to spend your time in Japan worrying about whether you will find the ring.

Our online checkout does not include a store-pickup option because the tax-free process for an overseas shipment is different from the process for a purchase collected in Japan. Instead, contact ileava jewelry with the product link and your intended pickup date. We will send you an invoice. Paying it in advance secures that one-of-a-kind piece and its current price.

You do not need an appointment simply to collect your jewelry. Please bring your passport if your purchase is eligible for tax-free processing.

Collecting the ring in Tokyo also avoids the FedEx shipping charge and the customs duties or tariffs connected with international delivery. And because our store is near places many visitors already plan to explore, pickup can fit naturally into a day in Tokyo.

You can choose after you arrive, too

Not every proposal begins with months of planning. We have met customers who arrived in Japan knowing they wanted to propose but had no idea what kind of ring to choose. Others decided during the trip itself and came to us hoping to find a ring before leaving Tokyo.

You are welcome to visit the store and browse without an appointment. For a more focused engagement-ring consultation, an appointment is helpful. Either way, our core staff can assist you in English and answer questions about the jewelry, sizing, and timing.

A photograph can show a ring's outline and some of its color. It cannot fully show its scale, height, texture, balance, or how its proportions change once it is on a hand. It also cannot tell you whether you will still be looking down at it five minutes later. For someone who needs to see the complete piece before deciding, trying on rings in the store can make the choice much easier.

How much time should you allow?

The answer depends on whether the ring already exists and whether its size needs to change.

• A one-of-a-kind ring available now, with no resizing: There is no production wait. Once purchase and pickup arrangements are complete, it is usually available for collection immediately.
• A ring available now that needs resizing: We recommend allowing about two weeks before your intended pickup or proposal date.
• A ring that is only slightly tight: If the difference is about half of one Japanese ring size, we can often adjust the fit while you wait.
• Other resizing: Resizing normally takes about one week. For travelers with limited time, a three-business-day service may be possible.

If there is not enough time to resize the ring in Tokyo, you can still choose the ring and arrange resizing after you return home. Because our rings are made in 18K gold or Pt900, a reputable jeweler at home should be able to assess the ring and resize it when the design permits.

For an answer about a specific ring, send us its link along with your pickup date, proposal date, and departure date. That gives us the information we need to tell you what is possible.

If you want to create something together

Custom work is another way to choose. It begins with Maya's designs, forms, and textures, and with a conversation about what you respond to in her work.

One option is our online bespoke service. You can pair one of ileava jewelry's established ring designs with a diamond or sapphire selected from an online library of more than 1,000 stones shared by jewelry artists around the world. ileava jewelry is currently the only provider in Asia that makes this library visible to customers. Many of the stones are traceable, and additional photographs or videos can be requested when you want to see a particular angle, inclusion, or area of color more closely. The stone itself cannot be viewed in person before it is purchased.

The usual stages are:

• Stone delivery to ileava jewelry: One to two weeks after purchase.
• Wax model: About ten days after the stone arrives.
• Final production: About two weeks after you approve the wax.

The time you need to review the wax is additional.

For more extensive custom work, you can work with Maya through the Omotesando atelier, either in person or through email, photographs, and videos. During the first consultation, Maya listens and proposes several ideas.

• Stone search, when needed: Allow about one week to review possibilities in the store or by email.
• Wax model: About ten days once the stone and direction are settled.
• Final production: About two weeks after you approve the wax.

Both custom routes can sometimes be completed in about one month. Whenever possible, we recommend beginning about two months before you need the ring. The additional time gives you room to consider the stone, wax, and details without rushing each decision.

If you are considering a commission but do not yet know how to describe what you want, our twentieth-anniversary photobook brings together a much broader selection of Maya's previous work. You may notice a form, texture, motif, or particular piece that gives us a place to begin.

Proposal places we know through our customers

We are jewelers, not proposal planners. But customers often come back and tell us where they proposed and what happened after they collected the ring. The places below are not our ranking of the best proposal destinations in Japan. They are places that have become part of real ileava jewelry customer stories—more than once.

Sunrise on Mt. Fuji

Some customers have carried the ring to the summit of Mt. Fuji and proposed at sunrise. Reaching the summit together became part of the proposal—and part of the story they later brought back to us.

Dinner in Tokyo or Kyoto

For others, the proposal happened during a carefully chosen dinner at a fine restaurant in Tokyo or Kyoto. The ring could remain hidden until the right moment, without adding another destination to the day's plans.

Sakura along Kyoto's Philosopher's Path

Customers have also proposed along the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto during sakura season, when the canal and its banks become part of the memory. Full bloom is usually associated with late March or early April, but its timing changes from year to year.

Autumn in Shinjuku Gyoen

Shinjuku Gyoen has appeared in customer stories during the autumn leaves, typically in November. It offers a quieter part of Tokyo without requiring a trip outside the city.

A temple garden in Kamakura

Some customers have chosen the quieter surroundings of a temple garden in Kamakura. The stone paths, moss, and changing seasons gave them a place that felt removed from the pace of central Tokyo.

Tokyo above the city

Others have proposed above the lights of Tokyo, including at Shibuya Sky or Tokyo Tower. For visitors already spending the day in the city, the proposal became the final part of an evening they had planned together.

After the proposal

Customers often return to tell us how the proposal unfolded. We love seeing the ring where it went next, whether through photographs sent to us or stories shared at the store.

Many customers later choose a wedding ring that goes with the engagement ring. That does not have to mean a matching set. The two rings may share a style, a design detail, a texture, or simply a feeling.

For some couples, the place or season of the proposal becomes part of that choice as well. Stories our customers brought back helped shape rings connected with Mt. Fuji and sakura. Our Sakura wedding rings, including the Sakura Petal Ring, offer one way to carry that memory into the rings worn afterward.

Where to begin

You do not need to have every detail settled before you contact us.

• See one-of-a-kind engagement rings available online.
• To collect an online-listed ring in Tokyo, send us the product link and your intended pickup date.
• If you will be in Tokyo soon, include your departure date and intended proposal date so we can give you a realistic answer about sizing and timing.
• To select an established design and a diamond or sapphire, visit our online bespoke service.
• For more extensive custom work, see our atelier custom process.
• To see more of Maya's previous work, browse the ileava jewelry twentieth-anniversary photobook.

Whether you recognize the ring when you see it or want to create it together, we can help you work out what comes next.