Gráinne Seoige says she was inspired to set up diamond business by her husband's proposal
Gráinne now makes jewellery that 'sparks joy'
Gráinne Seoige and Leon Jordaan
Gráinne Seoige has revealed her husband was the inspiration behind her bespoke diamond business.
The Galway-born presenter revealed she made the decision to go into the jewellery business when her husband popped the question with a custom engagement ring he had designed in his native South Africa.
Speaking on Q102’s breakfast show, Gráinne (47) revealed how she went from television presenter to entrepreneur when she made the move to South Africa with husband Leon Jordaan in 2016 where they set up her diamond jewellery business, Grace Diamonds.
She explained that the idea came when she fell head over heels with the engagement ring her former rugby coach hubby produced when he get down on bended knee in 2014.
The couple tied the knot in a glamorous five-star humanist wedding in 2019, after which Gráinne embarked on learning her trade to make jewellery that sparks joy.
Gráinne who returned to Ireland last year to be closer to family following the death of her father-in-law said: “It kind of happened the way life happens sometimes.
"Literally, Leon proposed. He had the ring made for me over there and designed it. I thought you walked into a shop and somebody showed you a tray and you pick one."
“He showed me it was a different way, that you could have a ring designed and made especially for you. It was such an amazing process and when I actually saw the ring in the end, it meant so much more to me than something that was just bought off a shelf that was mass-produced.
“Then when we had our engagement party and we showed it to people and they were so touched by it, we said, ‘I think this is a business.’ And I sort of started to get into diamonds more and more then.”
Loved up
The ex TV presenter who met her beau while filming Reality Bites in 2011 revealed she learned the ropes from the people who made her bespoke ring.
The star recently spoke about the overwhelming support she has received since moving back home to Ireland with her husband and settling in Galway city - just 20 minutes away from the former RTÉ presenter’s parents in Spiddal, Co Galway.
The couple decided to move closer to home after the untimely passing of Jordaan's father who died just three weeks before their dream wedding day in December 2019.
