Proposal Stories | Alice & Tom

Four and a half years ago, Tom and Alice met at their local nightclub, thanks to a particularly notable shirt that caught her attention and led her to Tom. “I thought he was really good looking, but he was wearing a very ‘out there’ shirt.. so I walked up to him and started chatting to him, and told him it was hideous!”. In Alice’s words, Tom’s attempt at ‘peacocking’ with the garish garment was a clear success! Flash-forward to the Summer of 2020, the couple became engaged during an enviable proposal, meticulously orchestrated by Tom.

As if a trip to sunny Santorini weren’t romantic enough, Tom had a covert plan up his sleeve to pull off one of the dreamiest proposals we’ve been privy to. The anniversary of the August Bank Holiday that marked the official beginning their relationship was approaching, and Alice had a feeling the sentimental date would end in a proposal; but the weekend came and went.

A couple of days later, the actual date of their anniversary, Tom had organised a walking tour around Imerovigli, with the now-unsuspecting Alice none the wiser to his true intentions. With their tour guide, Panos, they walked along the hilly Grecian streets, and climbed upon the roof of a quintessential, white-walled Santorini chapel. Panos offered to take a photo of Alice as she faced the sunset. Within seconds of realising she hadn’t handed him her phone, she turned to Panos to let him know: Tom was knelt on one knee before her. “He gave me the most amazing speech and I’ve never felt so special, lucky and full of love! There were plenty of tears, and I’m really pleased I didn’t fall off the chapel in all the excitement!”

Lo and behold, the trusty tour guide Panos was not a tour guide at all - but a photographer hired by Tom to capture the idyllic proposal in all its glory!

With qualified Queensmith gemmologist and design consultant, Sarah Jane, Tom created a unique, multi-stone engagement ring, using an impressively sparkly round centre diamond, adorned with three smaller diamonds each side, just to amp up that sparkle some more. And what was Alice’s take on the ring?..

“Sparkle, sparkle! The ring was absolutely beautiful, I just couldn’t believe how sparkly it was! I love it so much because it’s not like any ring I have ever seen, it’s completely unique to us!

We tried on rings at the beginning of the year, as I had no idea what I liked or wanted. We toyed with a few ideas, and found one we liked that was a similar design to the one Tom and Sarah Jane created. But when I tried it on, we both agreed we would change some dimensions and have a bit more detail when looking at the ring from the side. Tom tried to make changes to the ring with the jeweller where we found the ring, but they were very rigid in their approach, leaving him quite frustrated. I’m so happy he found Queensmith because it meant Tom could create exactly what he wanted.

When Tom showed me the ring, I was overcome with what he and Sarah Jane had come up with. The dimensions, details and did I mention sparkle were more than I ever imagined!”

Having previously visited a handful of jewellers together, Tom was able to gauge exactly what Alice wanted; but failed to find a jeweller that could accommodate the particulars that he and Alice had envisaged. “After that it was a case of finding a jeweller who had the same vision as me, as I was very specific on what I wanted. This proved frustrating as many jewellers were so rigid when it came to the design and diamond choices. That’s when a friend recommended Queensmith and the rest is history!”

Together with Sarah Jane, Tom created his design from the comfort of behind his computer screen, via a virtual consultation. A busy work schedule and disruptions caused by Covid-19 made travelling to Hatton Garden difficult. “Having the ability to have the meeting over video was amazing, the use of tech to get close ups of the diamonds was especially impressive, and being able to screen share design ideas gave me the sense of confidence in the modern, forward thinking company that Queensmith is.”

Now, more than ever, we know the importance of remaining accessible, even when life gets in the way. We’ve rolled out our virtual consultations to meet the needs of our clients, which you can now book here. It’s the same service our clients have come to love - now in the comfort of your own home.

Alice & Tom are taking each day by day, with no immediate plans to organise the wedding; first they have a house to sell! But for now, they’re planning to celebrate their engagement with friends and family. Whilst they haven’t put any wedding plans in place yet, in Alice had one final thing to say on the matter: “I know there will only be one place I’ll be going to for our wedding rings!”. We’re looking forward to working with Tom & Alice again!