NEW Sheila Fleet Kirkwall Shop Update!
Sep 6, 2024
After two years of working behind-the-scenes on our new Kirkwall Gallery location, we thought it ...
Back in April, we met the lovely Felipe and Gemma who got engaged in Orkney!
Felipe and Gemma visited our Glasgow shop in Princes Square to pick out Gemma's dream engagement ring, choosing one of Sheila's Contemporary Solitaire rings in platinum with a flawless diamond.
After the ring had been chosen, Felipe got in touch with Sheila's son Martin for recommendations of some perfect destinations in Orkney to pop the question. Check out Felipe and Gemma's story below to find out how it went!
"Gem and I met in 2016 in Saudi Arabia. Gem was in the 4th year of her degree doing a placement at KAUST university in Saudi, and I was doing a postdoc based out of Newcastle University. Part of my work involved traveling to KAUST to collaborate with colleagues there. I was invited to a quiz night by a colleague and I almost didn't go, but glad that I did as I ended up on the same team as Gem and from then on we became firm friends. I was immediately infatuated with her but as my time at KAUST was short nothing happened between us at the time. We stayed in touch throughout the years, and in 2021, following the death of one of my parents, we grew closer together as she had undergone a similar experience, and decided to meet up again. After spending time traveling together I quickly realised that she was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and decided to move to Glasgow to be with her.
A couple of years ago Gem spent a few months living in Stromness, and Orkney has always held a special place in her heart. She mentioned that if we ever got engaged she would love her ring to be handmade in Scotland, and as she was already a huge fan of Sheila Fleet jewellery, buying the ring from Sheila was a natural choice. We originally thought of picking the ring up in the Glasgow store, but decided it would be more special if we made a trip up to Orkney to pick the ring up ourselves from their flagship store.
Our experience could not have been more perfect! We bumped into Sheila and Stephen the Goldsmith Guru in our hotel the night before and were able to tell them the exciting news that we would be stopping by the workshop the following morning to collect our ring. On the day, we spent over an hour with Sheila, Martin and the team as they gave us a tour of the workshop and let me put the final polish on the engagement ring. It was the most wonderful experience, the whole team played a part in making our engagement incredibly special and we will treasure it for the rest of our lives.
After some research, I had considered Yesnaby as a place to propose as Gem has a great love for the ocean and it is a place she visited often when she stayed in Orkney. Both Martin and Sheila also mentioned how beautiful Yesnaby is and so I knew this was the perfect place to ask Gem to be my wife."
If you're thinking to pop that special question and unsure about how to choose 'the ring', check out our blog on 'How to choose the perfect engagement ring'.
Unsure of which style of ring to go for? Explore Sheila's range of traditional and contemporary engagement rings to find the right one for you!
Getting married this year? Sheila has a range of jewellery perfect for the bridal party. Browse our bride, bridesmaids and groom collections.