Jeff and Claudia

One cannot say enough great things about Helen – she’s a miracle worker.  I didn’t know the first thing about searching for an engagement ring other than I didn’t want to screw it up.   Claudia, my now fiancée, doesn’t wear much jewelry and I was planning the proposal as a surprise.  What concerned me even more was what I didn’t know I didn’t know about the process, so it all felt very daunting.  When you go to a High Street diamond shop you can get the feeling you’re dealing with salesmen interested in moving what they want rather than dealing with jewelers endeavoring to match what your loved one wants – that’s the impression I was left with anyway.  I retreated to Google to hunt for a consultant that could walk with me through the process.  I was very lucky to have found Helen’s website and mid-way through our first phone call I could feel relief as I had the first sensation that I could in fact pull this off.

With Helen you aren’t dealing with someone who’s just punching-in, Helen’s warmth and passion for what she does is palpable.  Helen has the heart of a teacher.   She’s patient, she really listens, you feel free to let your guard down, and you’re never made to feel dumb for asking questions even if you think they might be silly.

It was an education working with Helen, she sent material for me to look through so that I had the vocabulary at my disposal to better describe the traits of the stone and the cut I intuited Claudia would most respond to.  Helen made sure I understood what we were doing every step of the way which was empowering and also makes the end result so much sweeter that I can walk Claudia through how we got to the finished piece.

With Helen you get decades of experience, excellent taste, and a seemingly endless network of contacts who can source items from all over and who seem to go above and beyond in getting what’s needed- I suspect that’s a testament to how well-liked Helen is within the industry.

When you live with your partner and both of you are working from home during the pandemic – clandestine ring planning opportunities are at a premium.  Zooming from my car outside my exercise class provided the perfect cover – and Helen graciously accommodated the early morning windows I had.   When I told Helen I was going to have a secret lunch with Claudia’s mother and grandmother to get their input, Helen had the designer send us sketches of the finalists for our review.

My intention was to propose under the Northern Lights, the trip north had been booked for months. This plan was almost derailed when the announcement of a November lockdown meant we wouldn’t be able to leave the UK unless we packed our bags and drastically moved up our departure.  I still don’t know how Helen was able to pull it off.  Not only did she get the finishing touches made that she wanted for it to be perfect, she had the ring couriered to my flat in the countryside the evening before my flight.  I can’t imagine everything that went on behind the scenes to get this all coordinated for me to have the ring in-hand almost 2 weeks ahead of schedule.   Not only did she get an evaluation done so I was able to insure the ring immediately but she thought to put a choice of ring boxes in the package as well.  In the stress of the last minute packing and moving the flights, I wouldn’t have thought about needing a ring box until I was already up in the arctic circle.

In the end, we got the perfect night of Northern Lights when I popped the question and we’re so thrilled to be engaged.  The result is such an elegant piece beyond what I could have imagined.   Claudia can speak to how much she loves the ring.

With my insecurities on wanting to get the ring right and the logistical complications from the pandemic there were times where I would have felt completely overwhelmed were it not for the fact that I had Helen to lean on.  I knew while I was stressing, Helen was out there working hard to make the ring perfect for Claudia.  I’m proud of the design choices we made with help from Claudia’s family but I know the smartest thing I did in the whole process was bring Helen on board.

From Claudia:

As someone who doesn’t wear much jewelry at all, I had never really pictured what I would like my engagement ring to look like. When I saw the ring, it instantly felt like it was made for me and I could tell that a lot of thought has gone into the design to make it my own. I love everything about it and knowing about the wonderful cooperation between my fiancé and Helen makes it feel even more special.