Over a year ago, I received an Instagram message from Edgardo (Eggie) with an image of an Egg-Sized diamond listed for auction at Christies:
"Something like this should do the trick!"
It's not everyday that I am asked to create wedding bands for two partners with nearly identical names. It's also not everyday that I meet two people who are as well suited for each other as Eggie and Edgard. After nearly 10 years of courtship, Eggie and Edgard decided to wed and an Egg-Sized diamond was the only option for Edgard to truly know how much Eggie loves him...
I met Eggie when I was an 18-year-old college freshman. As a "Super Senior", Eggie had been around the college block long enough for me to immediately respect and trust him. For anyone who meets Eggie, it takes only seconds to learn that his sharp wit and incredible ability to put people at ease are true gifts. He is a man who brings out the hilarious in every situation and raises the bar on creativity with every turn in the conversation.
His humor is only rivaled by his enormous heart and genuine compassion.
Eggie and Edgard are from Puerto Rico. Last year, Eggie had been saving for their rings for several months, quietly putting aside a part of his paycheck each month so Edgard wouldn't notice the missing funds. When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017, much of the island was destroyed. Eggie's huge heart beat into action as he selflessly gave his hard-earned savings to Edgard's family to help them rebuild their lives, reducing his own wedding savings to zero.
Feeling the need to secure their right to marriage in a volatile political environment, Eggie restarted the design process this year. Together, we created a set of wedding bands, layered with personal meaning and beauty.
With the EE motif that holds the rough diamond cubes in place, the equality symbolism throughout, and the EST 2009 hand engraved on the interior in honor of the year they met, these rings are Eggie and Edgard.
Created in 18k Rose Gold with a 18k White Gold basket, the natural black diamond rough of Eggie's wedding band are amplified by the black rhodium inset in the deep parallel grooves that encircle his finger. Edgard's band is the opposite with a band of White Gold and a Rose Gold Double-E basket holding two charcoal gray rough diamond cubes.
These bands are mirrors of each other with their coloration and represent how Eggie and Edgard each bring different flavor and voice to create one incredibly strong and united relationship.
While we may not have fashioned an engagement ring with a diamond egg in the end, the wedding bands we made for Eggie and Edgard are just as unique and magical as a diamond the size of a doorknob.
They were planning a City Hall Wedding with two witnesses, but these plans were quickly put to rest as Eggie and Edgard's amazing community sprung into action, just as Eggie had for his community only a year before.
Edgard and Eggie's mothers and sisters came from afar to join Edgard and Eggie at the altar. Knowing many of Edgard and Eggie's friends, Edgard's sister started plotting. By the time they got to City Hall, there were 12 in tow and enough love swirling through the air to battle a hurricane.
Congratulations to Eggie and Edgard on their marriage!! Here's to a lifetime of humor, generosity, and endless amounts of love between and around you.
