Ain’t no mountain high enough
We’ve seen some incredible proposals make the rounds, but this has to be one of the most meaningful and daring we’ve ever encountered: dangling from a cliff face, sealed with a rugged Welfe Bowyer ring from e.g.etal.
Tim and Jess met through their mutual love of rock climbing. In fact, their first proper ‘date’ involved an impromptu long weekend climb and a freezing night in the bush. “Tim knew he was onto a winner when I didn’t complain that he got us completely lost and we had to bush-bash our way through some seriously spiky bush,” said Jess. “Since then, we have been pretty inseparable.”
After a short stint as a long distance couple, Tim and Jess spent five months living in a van exploring and climbing Canada and the US, before settling in Melbourne.
When Tim was ready to ask Jess to marry him, he wanted to incorporate their shared hobby into the proposal. He also had some ideas about the perfect ring. “I’m not someone who enjoys shopping all that much but I knew after walking into e.g.etal that I’d be able to find something there easily,” said Tim. “Having a ring that is one of a kind and that was hand crafted was certainly appealing.”
Tim was drawn to the work of Welfe Bowyer, whose “organic style and unique rings were something I knew Jess would love.” He picked out a meandering white gold textured ring set with three parti sapphires, with echoes of a mountain range.
For the proposal itself, Tim went above and beyond (quite literally). “I realised that the only place to do it was at Mt Arapiles, where we climbed the weekened we first started going out.”
“I bought a portaledge, a kind of suspended platform for camping out whilst climbing big cliffs. I rigged up an anchor placing gear into cracks and abseiled down the cliff face, assembling the portaledge in a suitable spot with a nice view of the surrounding cliffs, fields and salt lakes. Once I had the ledge ready, Jess abseiled down to join me. As she reached the portaledge, I asked her to stay standing for a moment before sitting down. She was unsure why, but it all became clear as I produced a small box from my bag.”
Thankfully, there were no unsteady hands as Tim slipped the ring on to Jess’s finger. “A few tears were shed, we kissed, hugged and the rest is history,” said Tim.
Jess was thrilled by her sky-high proposal, and her beautiful Welfe piece, “I absolutely love it!” she said. “It’s such a unique and different ring. I am not big on the clean lines of a classic diamond engagement ring and I never pictured myself with that type of ring. I love that my ring is earthy and organic, yet classy and beautiful. I feel like it’s a hard task to create something that is organic but of such quality and style. Welfe is an incredible jewelry artist!
“Importantly, I feel like the ring captures our relationship so well. As my mum said, ‘It looks like a rock climber’s ring.’. I don’t think anyone could have said it better.”
