Clare Crawley from The Bachelorette showed a sneak peek of her ring while running errands in her hometown yesterday, but fans only saw it in its full glory when Dale Moss went down on one knee. The 4.5-carat diamond ring from Neil Lane appeared on the show much sooner than expected due to Clare and Dale’s predicted plot twist. However, a bigger surprise was The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison dialing Neil Lane and calling him from La Quinta for “the ring” to save the day. Even though Neil couldn't make it to the show physically, here’s what makes jeweler Lane and his shiny sparklers so special each time a Bachelorette says “Yes!”
A regular feature of The Bachelor franchise, Neil Lane obviously delivered the diamond to Dale as he has been doing since 2009. However, given that it’s still the year 2020 and everything is crazy, as contestant Joe Park observed, Neil giving his ring to the reality show nine weeks in advance is surely new. Over the years, Neil Lane’s coveted cuts and carats have kickstarted several new love stories, although some of those love stories didn't have happy endings. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, meaning that some unfortunate participants part with their rocks. Still, fans always eagerly await the engagement ring. Celebrity jewelry designer Neil Lane has admitted to never watching shows from the franchise, so how did he end up becoming a mainstay on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette?
This time around, The Bachelorette’s most dramatic season ever deserved the most dramatic ring. Neil Lane gave Dale one with a central radiant cut diamond framed by 2 shield-cut diamonds and further accented with 145 smaller round cut diamonds. As per E!, the approximate total weight of all the diamonds is 4.5 carats. The ring has been “designed and signed” by Mr. Lane himself. Neil’s jewelry’s first-ever appearance on the reality show was during the finale of Jason Mesnick’s season of The Bachelor. Speaking to Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin on “Bachelor Happy Hour,” Brooklyn native Neil recalled how he was contacted “several times” by the producers to provide engagement rings for the couples, according to Bachelor Nation. “Here I am in Hollywood doing my thing, doing rings and blings. I didn’t want to do the show, because I didn’t know what the show was. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I didn’t know what they wanted,” Neil had confessed. When one of his assistants said, “It’s a popular show. You should do it,” the jeweler said “Yes!” to the offer. However, his first stint required Neil to fly to New Zealand "a zillion miles away” for the finale. He ended up sending his friend Paul’s girlfriend Emily with the ring instead.
The Bachelor helped Neil’s store “boom in popularity” and he soon became a pivotal part of the show’s behind-the-scenes team, having traveled all over the world delivering his sought-after stones. Each season, Neil spends hours with the show’s stars, so they can choose the perfect engagement ring from a set of six. Ring options are romantic, rustic, elegant, lavish, modern, and vintage. ED reports that Neil has to “coach them” and help the contestant pick one based on the lucky lady’s personality.
Breakups aren’t always easy, but The Bachelor couples have it way harder as they lose their Neil Lane rings if they do not last. Harrison had once revealed that the rings do come back to Neil if the couple goes kaput within months. “After a certain number of years or whatever, you get to keep it anyway. But if it's like months, then, you know, it's a $10,000 or $15,000 or $20,000 ring, it comes back," the reality TV host had told EW. The Bachelorette’s Clare broke up with 16 men to finally get the coveted ring from her darling Dale. Here’s hoping the pairing stands the test of time, and Clare ends up keeping both Dale and the Neil Lane ring forever.
Source: E!, Bachelor Nation, Elite Daily, Entertainment Weekly