How & Why I Proposed Using a 3D Printed Engagement Ring

Marriage proposals are getting more creative with each passing year. It takes a whole lot of confidence and research to choose the perfect engagement ring for your significant other. Sure, going down on one knee with an engagement ring in hand kind of covers the basics. However, such a moment should be an unforgettable experience, and it really pays to go all out and put your best “creative” foot forward. That’s why I decided to take a unique approach to make sure that the occasion was truly special.

Now, it only seems fair that I disclose one very important piece of information about myself before I get started: I’m a nerd, and I’m pretty proud of it (yes, Revenge of the Nerds reference!). All my friends are nerds and we love everything tech. So, when it came to proposing to my wonderful girlfriend of seven years, Michaela, it seemed almost perfect that I would do so using a custom made 3D printed engagement ring.

A Little Backstory

My proposal journey began about a year ago when I inherited nine different rings as family heirlooms. I knew instantly that one of those many rings would be the perfect engagement ring for Michaela. However, it was an overwhelming decision for me to choose the “best” ring out of the nine very special family heirlooms that had been handed down to me. That, coupled with the enormous pressure of finding Michaela the perfect ring, gave me an idea. I just knew that I needed an engagement ring that was truly as unique as her. With my love for tech and everything nerdy, I concluded that I would make Michaela a unique, custom made 3D printed engagement ring. I decided to make a ring that was specially designed just for her and follow that by surprising her with the choice to choose a ring out of the nine that were handed down to me.

Making the Ring

The idea of creating a custom-made 3D printed ring gave way to the next step in my proposal journey. For the task of designing the perfect engagement ring, I enlisted the help of my friend and mechanical engineer at our product design and manufacturing company, David Ricouard, to ensure that my idea and design were manufacturable. After five hours of conceptualizing and designing the perfect model for the ring using SolidWorks and then finalizing every little detail, the ring was ready to be printed. Here’s the design if you’d like to know how you can make a 3D printed ring for your own special someone.

Once the ring was in our 3D printer in the process of getting printed, I decided to find the best stone to place in the core of the ring. Oh, and another important piece of information to know about me: I have been collecting Swarovski crystals for the past couple of years. Now, this part of the design process was pretty simple — I selected the crystal I liked best and kept it aside for the ring. When the ring was printed and set, I fastened the crystal in place and all that was left to do was spray-paint the body of the ring. With some easy-to-find gold spray paint, I painted the body of the ring and voila! Michaela’s unique custom-made 3D printed ring was ready. The final product took me around nine hours to design and make. In the end, I was happy with how the ring turned out.

The Perfect Proposal

Planning a perfect and creative proposal for your significant other can be stressful. The pressure to make sure everything was perfect and to pop the question at the correct moment was overwhelming. I wanted to make our big day one that we would cherish forever. All I knew was that I was ready to embark on the next phase of my life with Michaela.

In August 2017, I planned a cruise trip with Michaela with the Royal Caribbean Cruises to the Bahamas. I was beyond excited to propose with the ring I made specially for her. I was admittedly a little nervous about dropping the ring while onboard the ship. See what happened to this unlucky couple here. However, on the plus side, with a 3D printed ring (with the fallback of making another one from our original design), I didn’t fear the possibility of dropping the ring and losing something irreplaceable.

Now, for those of you who haven’t been on a cruise before, there’s a special night towards the end of your trip called a Captain’s Formal Dinner, a “gala” event, if you will. I decided that I would wait till after the Captains formal dinner to propose. There were a range of emotions going through my heart and head — I was almost unable to contain my excitement to propose throughout the evening. I was like a little boy with a secret stash of candy hidden away in my pocket. I had this insane urge to pull the ring out and propose to Michaela right away. After a scrumptious dinner and endless amounts of dessert, the moment finally came when we were alone. We made our way to the back of the ship, which was conveniently parked in the Nassau Port, under a clear night sky with the glorious view of the Atlantis Hotel in the distance. It was perfect. As Michaela looked on ahead, completely unaware of my intentions, I built up the courage and went down on one knee and proposed. After a moment of confusion, (she thought I had dropped something from my pocket) she finally realized what I was doing. She teared up, thrilled that I had finally proposed and touched by the thoughtfulness put into the proposal and ring. She said Yes.

Worth It All

It’s ironic that despite all my years of manufacturing and 3D printing, I never thought I would make my own engagement ring one day. With a 3D printed engagement ring that I designed and made specially for Michaela, I realized that there was nothing better than combining my love for her and my love for technology and ending up with a perfect lifelong memory. The crossroads of creativity and technology is truly powerful.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Derek. I have been an entrepreneur in Tech for the last 10 years. In my blog, I share with you what it’s like to keep up with the ever-changing world of technology; the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur; what it’s like to do business in China; and how to simply be successful at managing work-life balance. If you like what you read, give it a nice round of applause and add me on LinkedIn — I love connecting with my readers.