​Hey guys, Aimee here!

Ever since the beginning of the year, we have been doing everything possible to prepare for COVID-19 (We were thinking about buying masks all the way back in February!). By the time Iowa ordered all retail to close, we felt confident that we had done all we could to prepare. 

Now we’re working from home, hoping we’ll be able to return in May! Until then, we’ve been in constant contact with our vendors and clients, making deliveries and curbside pickups. What else have we been doing to fill the time?

Jo was one of our employees awhile back and we were stoked to be a part of her engagement!
Since Jo has worked here, she knew exactly what she wanted. She gave Alex her specifications and gave him choices for the setting, making it easy for Alex to know what to get (the benefits of working at a jewelers ;))
He reached out to Miriam and made an appointment to pick out the diamond and setting. The oval he picked out was definitely a favorite at the store, and we were glad to see it go to Jo (mainly because it meant we would be seeing it around more often)!

Alex's plan was for them to eat brunch at the Iowa River Power Restaurant and then to go to the bridge over the river, where he would propose.

But of course, things never go according to plan.

In fact, before the proposal, we got nervous every time Jo visited us. As a former employee, she would know exactly how to find out whether he bought a ring, so we had to keep her away from the office. (Later after the proposal, we asked her if she had purposely come to snoop, she exclaimed, "I didn't, but I should have thought of it!" It was a huge relief to know she wasn't looking for clues!)

We got the ring done earlier than the estimated date so instead of brunch, he chose dinner before Thanksgiving. Their romantic dinner wasn't as Alex had hoped since the restaurant was busy getting ready for Thanksgiving brunch, but Alex and Jo nevertheless enjoyed being together.

After dinner, Alex asked Jo to put her leftovers in the car, still intending to propose on the bridge.
"No," she said. "It's too cold." Alex insisted she put her food in the car so they could go for a walk. She refused again, but Alex had no other justification as to why they should walk around in the cold so he repeated himself.

"This is when I figured it out," Jo said.

Just to mess with him, she declined again, but finally agreed. It seemed like all was going according to plan again. However, when they go to the bridge, it was icy. The two slipped and slid their way on, determined not to let an icy bridge stop the moment. There, it was where Alex proposed to Jo and she said yes.
Although the proposal wasn't exactly how Alex had imagined it, he was just glad to have been able to propose at all that night!

Congratulations to you two!! We couldn't be happier for Jo, one of our own, and her new fiancé :)

Will and Savannah have been together for five years since high school. Will used to collect playing cards and do card tricks in high school so it was no surprise he asked Savannah to prom with a card trick called the Talking Queen trick before they started dating. So naturally, cards became a special part of their relationship. In fact, one Christmas, they had given each other the exact same gift: a deck of playing cards with a reason why they loved the other on the back!
Will knew he wanted to marry Savannah after dating her for two years. "I was confident by that point that Savannah was going to be the woman I married," he said. On their second anniversary, he gave her a picture frame with the King of Hearts card holding out his heart to the the Queen of Hearts card. Little did Savannah know that on the back of the cards, Will had written "Will you marry me?" The question was right under her nose in her room for the past two years, but luckily, Savannah didn't find it yet as Will already had plans on how he would reveal it.
Will had the proposal in mind, but he needed a beautiful ring to go with it so he came to us.
I listened to his requests and pulled out several rings that matched his ideas. He narrowed down his choices to this elegant 14k white gold twist split shank engagement ring. It was dainty and gentle, just like Savannah. 

Will picked out the center stone the next day and gave us the green light to kickstart the project. Five weeks later, the ring was finished and we were gushing over it when he came to pick it up! He was pretty calm about it on the outside, but we knew how excited he really was!
August 29th was the day Will was going to propose. It was a warm summer night, perfect for the outdoor kick-off that 24:7, a college ministry at the University of Iowa they were both a part of, was holding. Will was able to get their college pastor in on it and their pastor asked Savannah bring the frame for a sermon illustration. After the kick-off was over, a group of them continued for their own festivity, a surprise proposal. Will's brother attempted a "magic trick" while he, Will, and Savannah were with a group of friends. This was a convenient segway for Will to do his magic trick. One of the friends pointed out that Will could actually do magic tricks so they requested he perform one.
Out of all the card tricks he could do, Will specifically did the Talking Queen, the same trick he did when he asked Savannah to prom five years prior. The Talking Queen works like this: an audience member chooses a card and the Queen of Hearts in the deck is supposed to talk to the magician and tell him/her which card it is. So Will, being the magician, pretended that he couldn't hear anything from the Queen in the deck even though he really heard two. He proceeded to ask his friends if anyone had a deck of playing cards with them to "continue" the trick. Savannah was holding onto the second anniversary gift with the two cards in the frame from their pastor's earlier sermon illustration. Will asked her to take them out so he could use the Queen for the trick. She took the back of the frame off and carefully peeled the two cards from the back. She noticed the writing on the back of the cards, and as she read them, Will got down on one knee and repeated the question that was written on the back.

​Here are some pictures one of their friends took as the proposal was happening!

We didn't have to be there to know she said yes; the big smile on her face said it all!
"Savannah is my best friend and the only person I want to spend the rest of my life pursuing and glorifying Christ with."

Will and Savannah, thank you for sharing with us the beautiful story of your proposal. We cannot wait for the magical adventures you two will have in this next chapter of life!!
​

Over the summer, something cool happened to a pair of lovebirds: a proposal of love.
​
"​In short, it was everything she dreamed it could be," Dylan said.  He had found the perfect ring to propose her with and the perfect spot to do it.
​
The ring he picked out is 14k rose gold with 14k white gold accents. The rose gold brings out the rosy tones of the beautiful pear-shaped pink sapphire, and the elegant scrolls on the sides give the entire ring a vintage and fairytale feel.

​It wasn't an easy choice.  This ring had been in the family for quite some time.  Passed down and then passed down again, our client wanted to keep as much of the original ring intact as possible.  We discussed all of the possibilities, eliminating the fantastical ones, which helped us both feel like we were making progress as we tiptoed around the fact that neither of us felt ready to make the final decision.  

Debating how much was too much change, we decided to let the aged lettering and engraving express the long life this ring had endured.  We repaired some structural damage underneath from decades of wear and then we focused on rebuilding the center of the ring.  Our goal was to regain some of the original dimension and to allow the original diamond & new sapphires to be set more securely.  

Miriam used CAD to plan out the new layout and then our goldsmith cast the center portion , hand set all of the sapphires and diamonds, and then blended the new piece into the original ring.    In the end we all agreed it was the perfect way to brighten up a ring that other jewelers had told our client wouldn't be worth fixing.  She said, "It's perfect I'm so excited to begin wearing it again!"  In fact, it's going to live on her finger a little bit longer before it gets handed down to her daughter!