Hartley Jewelers Helps Husband Surprise Wife With The Ring Of Her Dreams

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Submitted by Hartley Jewelers

Jamie Stover surprised his wife Wendi with a custom-made wedding ring from Hartley Jewelers.

When Jamie and Wendi Stover got engaged nearly 12 years ago, they went to Hartley Jewelers to buy an engagement ring.

“Wendi wanted something that was a little different, kind of custom,” says Jamie.

The couple didn’t have a huge budget – and also had no experience buying fine jewelry.

“We went in there thinking we were going to get platinum and lots of diamonds, all in our budget,” Jamie says, chuckling now at the memory. “Craig educated us on how things work.”

Craig Oliver is a fourth-generation jeweler and has been an important part of Hartley Jewelers’ talented team of designers and artisans for 16 years.

Jamie and Wendi found Craig fantastic to work with, giving them practical advice about their important purchase.

“And instead of doing what you might think someone selling jewelry would do – try and upsell us or milk these kids, who really couldn’t afford it, for every penny – he really took care of us and kept us on our budget and created a custom ring for Wendi that she really loved,” says Jamie.

But, as often happens, Wendi’s taste had changed a dozen years later. She began to think about a new wedding ring and scoured the internet in search of the perfect new design.

“She found nothing she liked except for one very specific ring and band that cost $15,000,” Jamie remembers. It was the only style and design she wanted, but that price tag was much higher than their budget.

Wendi suggested they go to Hartley and talk to Craig about the possibility of creating the rings. Jamie agreed wholeheartedly.

“But we’re busy and didn’t get a chance to go over there,” Jamie explains. Wendi’s 40th birthday was coming up and he began to wonder if – with Craig’s help – he could pull off a big surprise for the big day.

Jamie contacted Craig before Thanksgiving, with Wendi’s birthday just a couple of weeks away. He shared a photo of the ring and Craig and his colleagues set out to find a similar design they could then customize to match Wendi’s dream ring perfectly.

“They basically recreated exactly what she wanted, in the short time frame, and it was not near the price of the original,” says Jamie, who began formulating exactly how he wanted to surprise Wendi with the ring.

Craig Oliver has created one-of-a-kind jewelry for Hartley Jewelers clients for 16 years.

“They were making the ring and I was thinking about how to give it to her,” he says. “At home or out to dinner? That’s kind of boring. But what if I got Craig to play along with me, and Wendi and I could just drop by the store together and see if they have anything she might like?”

So Jamie suggested to Wendi, again, that they head over to Hartley Jewelers and just look around.

“I told Craig, ‘I want to come by and have her tell you what she wants. We’ll show you a picture on our phone. You can say we can’t really do anything like that.’”

Unbeknownst to Wendi, Craig had already pre-planted the new ring in the display case.

“Craig played it up really well,” Jamie says of the day the surprise took place. “He acted like he couldn’t remember my name. It was really funny.” All the Hartley Jewelers employees were in on the surprise and excited for Jamie and Wendi to come in.

“Jamie requested that I be intentionally difficult,” says Craig, smiling. “Are you sure you like that style? Boy, that’s really going to be expensive! Don’t you think you might like this instead?”

Craig showed Wendi a variety of rings – designs he and Jamie felt sure she wouldn’t like. And then he handed her the custom-made ring and asked, “What do you think about this one?”

“She was in the mode of looking at these other rings she wasn’t quite liking,” Jamie explains of the moment. “And then she saw the ring and was like, ‘No way!’”

“It didn’t take but a few seconds for her realize she had been duped,” says Craig. “It was great!

“I was completely surprised,” Wendi says. “And I thought it was cool that the entire staff was in on it and seemed just as excited as I was.”

“It was a great surprise,” Jamie says. “Other people in the store kind of got caught up in it, too.”

Wendi loves the ring. “She’s been showing it off,” says Jamie. “She couldn’t be happier.”

“It’s simple but very elegant,” Wendi says. “I have had a ton of compliments on it, people really notice it.”

Hartley Jewelers
www.hartleyjewelers.com

400 Cooper Point Road SW, Suite 2
Olympia, WA 98502

360.754.6161

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