Once upon a time there was a guy. Let’s call him Matt. And Matt was in love with Ellie. Matt wanted to propose to Ellie and came across a LA-based company on Instagram called Moon Azure (not the real name). This company advertised beautiful engagement rings that Ellie had actually seen before (and mentioned to Matt).

Before planning his surprise proposal, Matt jumped on their website and ordered a 14ct rose gold moissanite & diamond engagement ring.

Once the ring arrived from LA, Matt organized the surprise proposal and Ellie said YES!

Unfortunately it was the wrong size, and instead of sending it back to LA for a resize, Ellie contacted us at Artisans to see if we could do it for her. It turns out that Ellie’s mother was a previous customer and assured Ellie that we were the place that could help.

When Tammy inspected the ring, she was shocked to see how poor the workmanship was, and told Ellie that if they worked on this ring at all, the diamonds would pop out. She told Ellie that it wasn’t a handmade ring and that it should never have been sold as an engagement ring in the first place, given how delicate the ring was.

What followed for Ellie was a mini-workshop on engagement rings. She learned that when designing an engagement ring, it’s important that it is made to withstand being worn everyday for the rest of your life, which means the integrity of the ring must be of the highest order.

The ring that Ellie brought to Tammy, could only be worn once or twice a week at best. How did Tammy know this? Apart from over 25 years of experience Tammy has, it was the way in which the diamonds were set and the lack of weight (ie gold) in the ring. The ring was also sent to an independent valuer who noted on a report that 12 of the diamonds were already chipped.

Armed with this knowledge, Ellie wrote to Moon Azure to voice her concerns and to request a refund. Unfortunately Moon Azure resolutely denied all the points Ellie raised in her email (lack of durability, chipped diamonds etc) and declined to refund her money. Plan A was out the window!

The next move was to send the paperwork from the independent valuation, accompanied with a letter from Tammy to the bank citing that the product sold/bought was not as described. After careful investigation from the bank, Plan B was successful on the grounds of faulty/fradulent behaviour and Ellie received a full refund!

Without missing a beat, Ellie and Matt met with Tammy to get started on designing an engagement ring that was completely bespoke to the two of them, was going to last the rest of their lives and was a visual delight!

Ellie and Matt’s ring was made by hand, in 18ct white gold and featured a 1.42ct radiant cut grey spinel set in rose gold teardrop shape claws.

While this story has a happy ending, we would implore anybody looking to buy an engagement ring online to think twice.

Think twice, shop local and know what your rights are.

Contact Artisans Bespoke Jewellers to book a jewellery design consultation today to design your own bespoke diamond engagement ring.

Scrolling through Instagram photos of Jack Hingert’s most recent Europe trip with his girlfriend Symmie, you wouldn’t know that he was hiding an Artisans Bespoke Jeweller’s engagement ring in his pocket.

Wanting to choose just the right moment to propose on their European jaunt, but not having planned exactly where to do it, Jack – who is a Defender for Brisbane Roar FC – kept the ring on him until he felt it was the right time. How he got away with it, we’ll never know! But thankfully the right moment came in Positano.

“I can’t think of anywhere more perfect!” he said, and we couldn’t agree more.

After meeting on a night out in Brisbane through mutual friends, Jack and Symmie quickly realized they’d found ‘The One’ and before he knew it, Jack was seeking recommendations for jewellers in Brisbane. Luckily for us, a Brisbane Roar teammate had also had an engagement ring made by Artisans, and he highly recommended us (thanks for that Daniel!).

Not long after that, Jack met with Tammy and they got to work designing the perfect engagement ring for Symmie. He chose a pear shaped 1ct diamond and wanted to surround it with a halo, and after consulting with Tammy, she added some beautiful design ideas to personalize it to the pair.

Upon seeing the ring, Jack said Symmie “just burst into tears – happy of course! She still talks about how much she loves it”.

In Jack’s words, he would definitely recommend Artisans Bespoke Jewellers to family and friends as it was such a great experience. “Tammy and the team were fantastic. They were so friendly and went above and beyond to get me exactly what I wanted. I’m so happy that Daniel recommend them to me. Can’t fault any part of the service”.

We’re so happy for Jack and Symmie. Thank you for choosing Artisans Bespoke Jewellers to be part of your beautiful story, and congratulations on your engagement!

Contact Artisans Bespoke Jewellers to book a jewellery design consultation today to design your own bespoke diamond engagement ring.

At Artisans Bespoke Jewellers, we consider it an honour to play a part in our customer’s stories. Every story is different, but each time someone shares them with us, we feel privileged to be part of it. We might even tear up a bit when we see your reactions to the final product (we will neither confirm or deny this).

Our part in Tim and Tabitha’s story began when Tim decided he was going to propose to his girlfriend.

He started to search for a jeweller, and he began the search online. We received an email enquiry from him and quickly made an appointment. Tim says “When I first met Tammy I knew I had found the perfect place”.

In that meeting, Tim shared with us that Tabitha’s favourite book was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. For those who are familiar with this famous fable, you will know that a rose is an integral part of this story and Tim had a strong vision of designing a ‘rose ring’.

Working with Tammy, they designed a ring that perfectly encapsulated the essence of Tim’s message. He initially wanted a ruby as the centre stone for the rose, but Tammy guided him towards a pink/bronze sapphire to account for durability and everyday wear. Tsavorite garnets were chosen to depict the leaves of the rose.

Our jeweller Kathy, got to work on the design and created the ring on time and to Tim’s budget. Tim’s thoughts on seeing the completed ring for the first time:

“For me, the first time I saw the finished ring, I was completely in awe. It captured my idea and made it a thousand times better. The craft and design are incredible.”

Not long after picking up the ring, Tim sent us the following message:

“Just wanted to let you know that she said yes and she loves the ring! It really is incredible. Thanks again for all your help. It looks amazing in the sunlight!”

She said yes! We were so happy for them both, and Tim followed up later to let us know Tabitha’s initial reaction upon seeing the ring:

“For Tabitha, firstly she was wrapped up in the moment. The ring itself caught the light beautifully and when she realised what it was inspired by she was speechless. She loved the idea that the ring was unique to her, and how well it represents our journey together”.

It was such a pleasure designing and hand making this bespoke piece for Tim and Tabitha. We loved the design so much we wanted to create our own ‘Rose Ring’ inspired by Tim and Tabitha’s story, but with our own Artisans flair. The result was a beautiful rose ring set in 18ct White Gold with a Round Brilliant Solitaire – it was one of the most beautiful engagement ring designs we have seen our jeweller Kathy make, so we named the ring design after her – ‘Katherine Rose Ring’.