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When Andrew Wolgemuth served in Afghanistan, his comrades in his special operations platoon came to depend on him for a particular skill set and base of knowledge: diamond engagement rings.
« A bunch of Rangers in my platoon were at that point in their life where they wanted to get engaged, » says Wolgemuth. « They want this idea of, they’re fresh off a combat deployment, and all of the wives, girlfriends, family members are standing there with signs and they get to walk up, drop to a knee and propose. »
Only one thing stood between them and that perfect off-the-plane and drop-the-knee moment. They had no idea how to get a decent engagement ring in Afghanistan, even by military mail.
« The odds are not in your favor that that package is going to show up, » says Wolgemuth.
Then word got around the platoon — Lt. Wolgemuth’s family runs a jewelry business. He started arranging video calls with jewelry makers to design rings. Then the jewelers would make a convincing duplicate with brass and glass to mail over. The real one could be collected later, but these guys would have a sparkly ring as they arrived. And for a few of his fellow Rangers, it worked.
« It was a once-in-a-lifetime proposal off the plane — they got the moment, » he says.
At the time, Wolgemuth didn’t have any idea this would lead to a business career in jewelry. But he knew that even back in the U.S., buying an engagement ring is just as scary for snake-eating Army Rangers as it is for civilians. Most people don’t buy that many in their lifetime, so they have no idea how to judge the value of a diamond.
