Meet the latest couple in the Chupi Engagement Series : Harriet & Richard. Harriet tells us about her gorgeous engagement in Vietnam with the most beautiful You Me & Magic Grey Diamond Engagement Ring.

We met on a night out in Crete (well technically Malia, but Crete makes our 18 year old selves sound much more sophisticated ha!) in 2009 on our respective guys and girls holidays before we all headed off to university in the September.

We booked an epic trip to Vietnam to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. The plan was to spend 3 weeks city hopping from Sapa down to Ho Chi Minh as our last big trip before adulting finally kicked in (the joys of a mortgage).

After a brief 24 hours in Hong Kong, we arrived in Hanoi airport and travelled straight from the airport up to the rice terrace panoramas of Sapa. On our first morning we woke up to the most incredible sunrise over the mountains from our balcony. We’d planned to take the cable car up to the top of Mount Fansipan but the weather was cloudy and we weren’t promised much of a view. Richard insisted we try and we headed to the cable car station. It was a Saturday so naturally full of tourists, but we didn’t have to wait long until we were in the cable car and heading to the top of the mountain.

Richard said he wanted one last photo of me looking out over the view, as I turned back around he was on one knee with the ring (which he’d snuck in to his luggage and through the airport inside his glasses case and around Sapa in his pocket all day!).

The views were incredible and the sun made an appearance but as we headed higher up in to the clouds the weather turned and the view at the top was less than ideal. After an hour in the rain and fog, we made it to the summit, it had been Richards plan to propose up here but the blanket cloud and the hundreds of people surrounding it changed his plans.

We headed back down in search for lunch and coffee, by this point it was 40 degrees and Richard was insistent on finding a beauty spot he’d found on Instagram to take some pictures. We headed up and down stairs and hills and eventually found the place he’d been looking for….which turned out to now be a building development….hot and bothered we headed back to the hotel and decided to get changed and head to the bar for a drink.

Despite it differing from his original plan, the whole thing was completely perfect. It was just the two of us and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful setting.

Richard suggested taking some nice photos on the balcony to make the most of the weather and the view, after about 20 minutes of photos he said he wanted one last photo of me looking out over the view, as I turned back around he was on one knee with the engagement ring (which he’d snuck in to his luggage and through the airport inside his glasses case and around Sapa in his pocket all day).

Despite it differing from his original plan, the whole thing was completely perfect. It was just the two of us and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful setting. After sharing the news with our nearest and dearest we had drinks in the bar and spent sunset on the balcony overlooking the view. We headed out that evening for traditional Vietnamese to celebrate.

I’d spotted Chupi on Instagram a few years ago and fell completely in love with their pieces, the fact they were based in Dublin meant I was certain that Richard would never find a chance to sneak over and pick a ring (even though I dropped enough hints) so stored them in my mind for a future special jewellery purchase . Richard tried a number of shops in London but always knew he wanted to get something a bit different and the story behind Chupi’s grey diamonds was always in the back of his mind.

To me my Chupi ring not only represents all the exciting things to come but it’s also an incredible reminder of one of the best memories in such a beautiful place…something that feels like such a distant memory at the moment.

When Richard decided on a Chupi ring , he knew he wanted to pick it out in person. After telling work he was working from home (oops) he booked an early morning flight from Stanstead and landed in Dublin around 7:30am. He made sure to land before we would normally speak in the morning so I wouldn’t have any idea.

He’d booked an appointment at the Powerscourt Townhouse store and met with Christine who was brilliant. After looking through the engagement ring range he was sure that the You Me & Magic ring was the one. He went for a gold hawthorn twig band which I loved so much and was helped by Christine to pick the perfect grey diamonds with the most sparkle, which he discovered after testing them against the window multiple times.

I’d often lusted over the You Me & Magic rings on Chupi but I never thought it would be something that Richard would pick.

He was also helped with the ring size as he’d only managed to measure one of my other rings meant for my middle finger, it turned out to be a perfect fit! After choosing the diamonds he had the anxious wait of waiting for it to arrive a few weeks later. He was so happy with the service and it made everything that much more perfect.

I’d often lusted over the You Me & Magic rings on Chupi but I never thought it would be something that Richard would pick. After visiting the store and picking the diamonds he knew it was the one and thought the gold hawthorn twig band offered something completely different.

To me, my Chupi ring not only represents all the exciting things to come but it’s also an incredible reminder of one of the best memories in such a beautiful place…something that feels like such a distant memory at the moment.

We’ve started looking at a few venues (all of which has been halted by dreaded Covid-19) so we’re currently looking at an Autumn 2022 wedding.

Read more of The Chupi Engagement Series here. Looking to take a closer look at our Engagement Ring Collection? Book a consultation with our incredible team of experts in our Dublin Studio from anywhere in the world. Our jewellery consultants are available via video call to take you through our beautiful collections; whether it’s an heirloom ring, engagement ring, wedding band, or a piece to mark a special moment.