PW Reader Ring: Crystal & Christopher!


Crystal's ring!

Crystal’s ring!

The couple: Crystal Hayes and Christopher Casazza, Philadelphia.

The ring: I wish I could take any measure of credit for my ring, but it was all my fiance! He has a classic and slightly vintage style that is definitely reflected in my ring, which is more than I could have ever dreamed up myself.

The center diamond is Old European cut, which is very hard to find these days, so he traveled back to Michigan (where he’s originally from) to find the perfect stone with an estate jeweler, Joseph DuMouchelle. He then went to D’Antionio & Klein (on Jewelers Row in Philly) to have the setting custom made. The stone is beautifully set in a split shank with a diamond halo made of white gold. As a nod to the Art Deco era that I love, he also had hand engraving done on the top and underneath of the setting, so I see a lovely etched pattern whenever I look at my hand.

Of course, I wondered how he was able to create such a unique piece of jewelry that I swoon over on a daily basis without ever discussing the topic with me … Turns out he enlisted the help of my best friend and co-worker months in advance to consult on the process!

The proposal: Chris and I were heading out on our first adventure to Italy together. A few months prior to the trip, a few friends and I were at a hospitality event at the Independence Visitor Center where there happened to be a psychic/card reader. My girlfriends immediately insisted we chat with her, and one of the first questions they plied her with was: “When is this one going to get married?” Chris and I had barely been dating for a year … I thought they were crazy. Of course the psychic responded, “In the very near future!” Jokingly, I told Chris all about this story and in a very matter-of-fact way he explained he didn’t want me to expect this to happen during vacation. He feared that I would wake up everyday in Italy hoping for a proposal, and go to bed every night sad that it hadn’t happened. With that said, I forgot all about it.

The morning arrived for our trip and Chris informed me he had to go to his office for the morning to wrap up a few things, but not to worry, that he would be back in plenty of time for our flight. He was wide awake at 7 a.m. getting ready to go to work (I thought, anyway.) He asked if I would have coffee with him before he left and I said, “Of course, I’m on vacation, I’ll just go back to sleep after!”

Chris made two cups of coffee and we drank them in bed, like we do often to enjoy the morning together before hectic days get the best of us. He asked if I wanted to go over some Italian lessons. (He had been teaching me a few key phrases to use during the trip, like, “Un litro vino rosso della casa, per favore!”—how to order a liter of the house wine, very important!). We went over several phrases, and then he introduced a new one: “fidanzata.” This one I hadn’t heard before, so I repeated “fid-an-za-ta,” then asked what that meant. Chris replied “fiance” and held out the ring. I curled up in a ball and sobbed (out of complete shock and happiness, of course) before he could even get out the question, “Will you marry me?” Eventually he asked, and of course I said YES!

A few hours later, we hopped on a flight to Rome, and spent ten glorious days exploring the Marche region with a few close friends. It was prefect!

The band: For our bands,  we actually just went back to D’Antionio & Klein. With the help of David, who designed my engagement ring, I picked a slim diamond band in white gold. Chris will have a traditional yellow gold band with hand etching throughout that matches his grandmother’s bracelets that his mother wears, a family heirloom that’s very dear to him.

Read other PW Reader Ring stories here

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