At Wimmer's Diamonds, the ring is where the story begins — not where it ends. Three Fargo couples on the jewelry, and the decades, that followed.
A ring is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but it can hold an entire life story.
It can hold a nervous proposal, a first home, children and grandchildren, road trips, anniversaries, quiet mornings, ordinary Tuesdays, and the love that only becomes more meaningful with time. At Wimmer’s Diamonds, that is the part of the work that has always mattered most. The engagement ring may be where the relationship begins, but for many couples, Wimmer’s stays part of the story long after the proposal.
Jim & Laura Boulger: Classic, With a Twist
Jim and Laura Boulger’s story began in a college classroom. They met in an Irish literature class during sophomore year, started dating as juniors, and were together for five years before they married in 2008.
Jim picked out Laura’s engagement ring himself. She describes it as classic solitaire, but with a twist and small inset diamonds down the band. That detail mattered. It felt timeless, but still personal. Traditional, but not ordinary.
Like the other couples, their connection to Wimmer’s did not end with the wedding ring. Jim grew up knowing the Wimmer family, and the relationship continued naturally. When he and Laura have purchased diamond jewelry, that is where they have gone. They bought a ring for Laura’s 40th birthday, along with earrings, a necklace, and other pieces. They have brought jewelry in for cleaning and repairs. Each time, they found good service, familiar faces, and people who remembered them.
“When we see them out in the community, they’re always very personable and remember us,” Laura said. “It definitely makes you want to go back.”
For Jim and Laura, marriage has been a life of learning together. They have welcomed three children, bought their first house, moved to Fargo and grown through the ordinary lessons that shape a relationship. Laura says one of the biggest has been learning how to communicate—not just talking, but understanding each other’s communication styles.
That, too, is part of building a life of love. It is not just the proposal or the wedding day. It is learning. Adjusting. Becoming better partners. Celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and milestones along the way.
Ken & Dolores Thoms: More Than 40 Years of Being Known
For Ken and Dolores Thoms, that story has lasted more than 40 years.
Now in their 90s and living at Eventide, Ken and Dolores still remember walking into Wimmer’s in 1984 and feeling like they belonged there. They bought their engagement ring from Wimmer’s, and over the years they returned again and again for rings, gifts, and special pieces their family would pick out for Mother’s Day and other occasions.
Why did they keep going back?
“Because we liked them,” they said simply.
Dolores remembers being greeted warmly every time they came in. The staff knew them. They were happy to see them. Even the store dog made an impression.
“When somebody treats you nice, you’re going to enjoy it,” Dolores said.
Their life together has been full of family, work, moves, memories, and plenty of humor. Between them, they raised a large blended family. Dolores had two sets of twins just 13 months apart, later went to college, earned her degree, and taught school for 20 years. After they married, she and Ken made their home in West Fargo.
They did not describe their life as fancy. They did not talk about grand vacations or perfect moments. Instead, they talked about Florida winters near Sanibel and Fort Myers, friends who traveled with them, and the steady companionship that comes from choosing each other over and over.
Pam & Wayne Rud: A Glove-Box Proposal and 53 Years of Trust
For Pam and Wayne Rud, love started with a little more horsepower.
They met in Fargo in the early 1970s, back when “dragging Broadway” was a social scene all its own. Pam remembers seeing Wayne’s hot car in the mornings. Wayne remembers the cars, too, including the street racing, the gathering spots, the way everyone seemed to know who was driving what. Eventually, a mutual connection led to a blind date. Wayne called Pam three times in one night before they finally went out to a movie.
They clicked quickly. Within nine months, they had met, gotten engaged, and gotten married. More than five decades later, they are still together.
The engagement ring came from Wimmer’s. Wayne went in over his lunch hour and worked with Andy Wimmer. Pam’s mother worked at Wimmer’s for 31 years, but she was not there that day, and she did not know what Wayne was planning. He picked out the ring, found a way to make it work, and later brought it to Pam when she was finishing training in Wisconsin.
He told her he had brought her a present. It was in the glove box, wrapped beautifully in a Wimmer’s ring box. Pam opened it in her aunt and uncle’s driveway in St. Paul, MN. It was Nov. 18, 1972.
“That’s just kind of a funny story,” she said.
Through 53 years of marriage, Pam and Wayne have built a life around shared passions and mutual respect. Cars were there from the beginning, and they stayed. Wayne was an engine builder by trade and owned a machine shop for decades. Their daughters grew up around cars, rod runs, camping trips, and lake weekends. The couple still has classic cars, and their family’s love of automobiles continues into the next generation.
They also built a cabin on West McDonald Lake, a project that became another family gathering place. They traveled, camped, raised children, bought their first house, and made a home out of what began as little more than a new structure without a driveway, garage, sidewalk, or yard.
When Pam thinks about what has made their marriage last, she talks about trust, respect and allowing each other room to be themselves. They do many things together. They also give each other space. Wayne has his cars. Pam has her friends and trips. “I got my stuff to do, and she’s got her stuff to do,” Wayne said, “and it all meets in the end.”
That same trust is what kept them coming back to Wimmer’s.
Over the years, they purchased anniversary pieces, Black Hills gold, diamond earrings, necklaces, watches, rings and custom work. Pam’s 25th anniversary sapphire and diamond ring came from Wimmer’s. So did many of the pieces that became part of their family’s jewelry story. Her mother’s jewelry, much of it purchased at Wimmer’s, has now been passed down to Pam and her sister.
“For us, it’s the trust,” Pam said. “The trust we have in them, and all the people we’ve worked with there.”
A Place Couples Return To
Three couples. Three very different beginnings. A college classroom, a small-town jewelry counter, and a glove box on a November afternoon. What ties them together is not just a ring, but a relationship that continued long after the purchase.
That is the story Wimmer’s Diamonds keeps hearing, year after year, generation after generation: the ring is only the beginning.
