The most romantic proposal and engagement ring

11 September 2023

“Fingers crossed that we don’t get eaten by polar bears. I’ll let you know her answer!” And just like that, Colin* left my boutique, leaving me speechless. The next day, he and his girlfriend would head to Spitsbergen. Hidden in his luggage was one of my ring boxes with a beautiful antique toi et moi ring. I love working on surprise proposals. This one was just more nerve-wracking than usual. Read on for the full story.

Liefdefjorden

Imagine being together with the love of your life. You both like the idea of a small and modest wedding. No plans for the wedding just yet. However, you do are planning a brilliant trip together to Spitsbergen, an island group in the Arctic Ocean. During the preparations you discover you will visit a fjord called Liefdefjorden. Also known as Love Bay or Baye d’Amour. This place has written ‘romantic proposal’ all over. The wedding may be small, but you’d love to go big on the proposal. Not soon after your discovery, the perfect ‘toi et moi’ ring appears in the online boutique you have been following for a while. (This is where I come in.) All of the ingredients are in place. Something’s cooking!

Antique toi et moi engagement ring

Suddenly Colin has a plan as well as a short time frame. He immediately gets in touch with me about the antique ‘toi et moi’ ring. ‘You and me’ in French. One of the most romantic looks in jewellery, if you ask me. It refers to two gemstones, bright diamonds in this case, sitting side by side. A classic design symbolizing two souls becoming one. The 18 carat gold ring spoke to Colin because of the story and both he and his girlfriend love all things vintage and antique. To make the proposal absolutely spot on, we adjust the ring size a little bit. This way, it will fit perfectly. I’m glad he knows her ring size! The night before their flight will take off, the engagement ring is also ready to go. Colin is super excited – and so am I.

The proposal

I didn’t hear from Colin for a while. What was her answer? Were they indeed eaten by polar bears? I knew the phone coverage during their trip would be bad: either a patchy signal or no signal at all. And then he sent me a message. What a relief!

Colin: ‘Beforehand, I had no idea what an incredibly beautiful, special and downright magnificent place these Liefdefjorden (and all of Spitsbergen for that matter) are. Since we were making the trip with a group of 30 people, and I really wanted a personal moment with just us two, I briefed the guides on the morning itself. I shared my plan: we would walk a bit at the back of our hiking group so that I had the chance to do the proposal in private. They would also make sure there were no polar bears around. And so it happened that at 79.6 degrees north latitude, I asked the most beautiful woman in the world to marry me. And she said yes. The ring hit the spot too. A success all around!’

*Colin is a fake name to ensure the couple’s privacy. The photo of Liefdefjorden was taken and sent by the lovely couple.