"We don’t make anyone do anything, but he thanked us a million times."
When Hollywood engineer Cristina Montiel and her fiance Ruben Yrady decided they were going to get married, Montiel wanted a ring that conveyed their years-long romance.
The couple met as high school students in Venezuela, and both studied engineering in college before moving to Miami in 2019.
In December, Yrady proposed to Montiel in Italy with a radiant-cut diamond almost as big as a gummy bear.
“Everyone and all of my girlfriends that see it are in love with it,” said Montiel, 30. “My friends that know me know it’s what I’ve dreamt of, shape-wise. Everyone compliments the ring.” What most people don’t know is that Montiel’s sparkling diamond was made in a laboratory.
In recent years, lab-grown diamonds have gained recognition for their identical similarities to naturally occurring diamonds — and significantly lower prices.
Montiel purchased her ring from Liori Diamonds, a Sunny Isles Beach jewelry shop that opened last year and specializes in lab-made diamonds.
Read more at the Miami Herald