So this, THIS is the blog post where I cry.
Yes, feel free to imagine me, sitting here at my keyboard, tearing up and writing, because that is what is truly happening, because this weekend, my youngest brother and his wonderful girlfriend got ENGAGED!
These tears are happy, happy tears, and I’ve been waiting to share about this day for a while. If you’re just interested in the jewelry feel free to scroll to the end for details on the making of this ring! But, if you love a love story, start from the beginning, so you can hear a little about Bryce’s and Emily’s journey, through my eyes.
The day before Thanksgiving 2018, my youngest brother Bryce and I were carpooling down to our parents’ home in Southern Oregon. I remember him telling me about a girl he had been talking to, named Emily, and that they had met through a mutual friend in Eugene, OR, where they were both students at the University of Oregon (‘Sco Ducks!). I thought this was intriguing because he didn’t usually offer up stories about his love life, and this time he was. During Thanksgiving day, he was always picking up his phone and then smiling like a lil’ sweet goofball. Please see the evidence, in this not-spectacular, but quite telling image of Bryce, surrounded by family and desserts at Thanksgiving, trying to sneakily message Emily.
A few months later Bryce and Emily started officially dating. I was excited for him, but of course, as the oldest sister, I felt a bit protective (my family can attest to my past of this, sorry Dallin and Bryce.) I hadn’t met Emily, and I didn’t know too much about her, but I knew she was invited to visit my parents’ home with us, and so once again, I drove from Portland to Eugene to carpool with Bryce and Emily down to Medford. This time my now-husband, then-boyfriend Sam was with me. Getting into the car, I expressed my excitement and nervousness to Sam about meeting Emily. I wondered what she was like, and prepared to be as neutral as possible, trying to actively remind myself that I didn’t need to be protective, that Bryce was all grown up now. We picked up Bryce and Emily at their apartments, and introduced ourselves to her. We chatted all the way down to Medford. The first time Emily and Bryce were out of earshot, I looked at Sam and said “oh no. I really like her. It’s way too soon to like her this much, right? I love her!” Sam said “I was thinking the same thing. She is so cool.”
Well thankfully for my family, Emily seemed to like us just as much too. She and Bryce dated throughout the rest of college, and the duo spent lots of time with our family all together. She fits right in, especially with Bryce. I mean, they went through college AND a pandemic together - if your relationship can last through those tough times and thrive, it’s quite a solid foundation. They support each other wonderfully, and they seem to have the same sense of humor, and communication.
After a few years of dating, they started talking about marriage, and of course, as a jeweler I got excited about the idea of making them the BEST ring I could possibly make. So, when Bryce asked if I would be interested in creating Emily’s engagement ring, I was thrilled. Emily knew I would make one for them eventually, but she had no idea when this would happen, on what timeline, or what it would look like! I had picked up on a few things about what she would want her future ring to look like, but most of it was up to me. I took the opportunity to make something that would be timeless, unique, and that would match her style.
I knew Emily likes pear-shaped stones, but she also loves a vintage vibe, so I started out by sourcing a beautiful rose-cut natural diamond. Large pear-shaped rose-cut diamonds aren’t easy to find, so I spent some time sifting through my choices until I hunted down the right one, a .84 carat, white, VS diamond, that glittered in just the right way.
Once I had the diamond in my possession, I played with the look of different side stones. Ideas included alternate stones like sapphires accents, or two more pear-shaped stones set point away from the main diamond, but a trio of white rose-cut diamonds on each side just felt right, and brought the piece together.
I joined all these diamonds together in 14k yellow gold to bring warmth into the piece. Each stone is set with prongs, to allow for the most light to make its way through the diamonds, and to secure them into place. I placed a larger prong over the very top point of the pear-shaped diamond in order to keep it from any potential damage that engagement rings can get through daily wear (although diamonds are one of the hardest materials on earth they are not impervious to damage, and fragile points should be protected). Once all the diamonds were set into the polished metal places, I gave the ring a final once over and put it in a dark green (Go Ducks, of course) velvet box.
Getting the ring to Bryce for the proposal had to be done very sneakily in order for Emily to not know. The next time I saw them was for University of Oregon’s spring football scrimmage, so I took the opportunity before the game to go into their laundry room, climb over the washer, and hid the ring box under a blanket on the highest shelf. Emily is about 5 feet tall, so I was pretty certain she wouldn’t be looking there any time soon. Bryce retrieved the ring without any issue, and without her knowing our scheme.
Bryce decided to propose to Emily on May 21st. His original plan was to propose at a vineyard while wine tasting, but when they got there it was a small space, not very private, and didn’t feel right. After wine tasting, they got some snacks for a picnic and sat down at a quiet park near a pond. Bryce had bought an iced coffee, and when he took off the cap he noticed it said “GOOD LUCK” on the lid. He couldn’t stop laughing at the irony, and he found that moment to be the right moment, so he proposed to Emily, and she said yes.
To Bryce and Emily, thank you for allowing me to make such a special ring, and future heirloom. I love you both!