Philadelphia–Like any jeweler, Bernie Robbins Fine Jewelry is in the business of creating special moments for its customers, but staff at one of the jeweler’s seven locations recently went above and beyond to unite a military couple separated by thousands of miles.
In February, Lt. Col. Kyle Voigt, a U.S. Air Force pilot, and his wife and fellow pilot, Col. Jean Voigt, visited a Bernie Robbins store in Marlton, N.J., in the hopes of replacing her engagement ring, which had been lost. Associate Gennifer Flaxman helped the couple select a 2.11-carat loose diamond to be set in a Simon G mounting.
The couple was disappointed to learn that the ring order would take a few weeks, since Kyle was deploying to Iraq before the ring would be finished and he would not be able to present it to his wife in person. However, Kyle and the staffers secretly began working together to come up with the next best thing.
“We are in the business of celebrating moments, but being able to create this one was truly a privilege,” Bernie Robbins owner Harvey Rovinsky said in a news release issued Wednesday, that outlined the story.
Shortly after Kyle deployed, Jean discovered she was being promoted to colonel on March 24. After confirming the ring would be ready by that date, Kyle arranged for his wife’s parents to fly in and surprise her at Fort McGuire Air Force base in Fort Dix, N.J., under the guise that they were coming in solely for her promotion reception.
Immediately following the reception, Jean, along with her parents and the couple’s two sons, headed to Bernie Robbins to pick up her replacement engagement ring, which Kyle Voigt had informed her was ready.
What she didn’t know is that her husband and the sales associate Flaxman had been planning–via countless e-mails back and forth and a crash course for Flaxman in using video and voice call service Skype–a “virtual celebration” for her.
When Jean arrived at the store, she immediately fixated on her ring, not noticing at first that her husband’s image and voice were being broadcast into the store via Skype on a 29-inch borrowed Mac computer monitor.
Once he got her attention, Kyle surprised his wife with an informal renewal of their vows, a moment that brought tears to everyone’s eyes.
To show their appreciation for being included in the family’s celebration, Bernie Robbins presented Jean with a bouquet of white Casablanca lilies and red roses tied with a blue ribbon, gave the family a plaque of appreciation for their military service, presented their two young sons with their very own dog tags and taped the entire celebration as a gift for the family.
Courtesy of the National Jeweler Network
