Continuing our celebration of Stuller’s Year of the Wedding™, we are highlighting stunning rings and the Stuller associates who wear them.
The journey of a ring is a long one. From concept to creation, the work that goes into the details is extensive, but extremely worthwhile to produce a piece someone will cherish for a lifetime. The hands that work on engagement rings put extra care in their work because they know its significance. At Stuller, many hands contribute to the creation of every piece we make, and we know how special each ring will be for the one who wears them.
For Stuller’s Tools and Equipment Product Manager Chris Leonard, he understands the care Stuller associates put into our rings. So, when the time came for him to look for a ring to propose to his fiancé Camille, it was a no brainer to ask for help from his fellow associates. Having been with Stuller for a few years, he knew exactly who to approach and the team started to work
Chris’ engagement ring for Camille went through quite a journey. Let’s follow this journey and see how #TeamStuller contributed to make this an extra special proposal.
This Relationship Means Business
Chris and Camille met in the summer of 2015 while they were both working on their Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Their class was tight knit, so they had a lot of mutual friends. While they had known about each other through their friends prior to that summer, they first met while taking a summer statistics class.
Over the next couple of months as the fall semester began, there were several school events where Chris and Camille began to grow closer. They decided to pursue a romantic relationship in September 2015 and have been together ever since.
Since their first date six years ago, Chris and Camille have been very happy together. While they knew that marriage seemed to be the direction their relationship was going in, neither felt rushed or pressured to take that next step until the time was right.
In 2019, that time came, and Chris made the decision to get an engagement ring for Camille.
#TeamStuller to the Rescue
Chris began by meeting with Camille’s friend and Stuller’s Vice-President of Merchandising Alix Gonsoulin. Camille and Alix have been friends for years and Alix was confident in knowing what style Camille would like. After compiling all the inspiration she could find that reflects Camille’s tastes, Alix created a detailed presentation for Chris and they began looking for a designer.
Creative Design Director Christine Lloyd was the immediate first choice to ask to design Camille’s ring. Christine was excited to work on this project and provided sketches for six different designs for Chris to choose from. Chris took his time and got several opinions of people throughout the building before making his decision.
Jacob Wright from Product Development & Design, Blaine Latiolais from Diamond & Gemstone Business Development, and Kristi Broussard from Tools & Supplies all pitched in to help Chris get a CAD rendering of the design to send to manufacturing, choose the perfect diamond, and set the diamond into the mounting. He even worked with members of the Packaging & Displays team to choose a ring box — a beautiful green box from our Eva Collection (61-0007:1100000:T).
Everyone who had a hand in the design and production of this ring carried significance to Chris and Camille. The Stuller team did not hesitate to help Chris provide Camille with the ring of her dreams.
“They went above and beyond, but they would do that for anyone.”
Chris Leonard
In the end, Chris had a stunning 18K yellow gold engagement ring featuring a round natural diamond secured by platinum prongs with a beautiful directional-style halo. The intricately detailed shank showcases lab-grown diamond accents ¾ around. The N-S-E-W composition of the halo was very popular when the ring was being made. It wasn’t until after he saw the ring that Chris realized it looked like a compass, which seemed all the more special since Camille is a travel agent and is very passionate about travelling. All in all, a perfectly one-of-a-kind ring.
With everyone having played their part in finishing the ring, all that was left was to find the right time to propose, which was not as easy as Chris had thought.
A Change in Plans
The ring was finished shortly before Chris and Camille were to board a flight to Europe on a trip. Because travel is important to the couple, Chris’ plan was to propose in a beautiful location while on their trip.
Unfortunately, that trip was planned for April 2020 — right as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a worldwide shutdown on leisure travel. With that trip put on hold, Chris had to rethink how he wanted to propose. There never seemed to be a good time because nowhere seemed to be just right. In fact, more than a year passed before the perfect opportunity presented itself.
As a travel agent, Camille often is invited to destination vacation locations to help promote the venues to her clients. Camille and Chris were invited to spend a few days in Cabo last month at a few resorts. Chris saw the opportunity this trip could have and made plans to take the ring with him.
While staying at the Montage, an exclusive resort in Cabo along the water, everything fell into place. With a completely empty private beach and a breathtaking sunset, Chris got on one knee and asked Camille a question he had been waiting to ask. With an audience watching from a nearby restaurant, Camille enthusiastically accepted.
Our Stuller Family
The story of Chris and Camille’s ring is an example of how our Stuller family steps up to help. As Chris would say, this is exactly what any Stuller associate would do for our customers. A lot of love and hard work went into the creation of this ring and a lot of love will remain with it as the happy couple begin a different type of journey together.
Congratulations to Chris and Camille from your Stuller family!
