Hunting for diamonds from a cattle and cropping property

Christina Duddy is a farmer’s wife, young mother, and a small business owner, who recently became the fairy-godmother of marriage proposals.  

At the end of 2016 Christina launched her unique business, The Diamond Hunter, and has since seen clients from near and far come calling for her brand of magic.

As The Diamond Hunter, Christina offers people a personalised experience when searching for that all-important engagement ring or a piece of diamond jewellery. 

Christina said most of the emails she first received from people were almost word for word. 

“Basically someone will come to me and just say 'I need an engagement ring for my girlfriend and I don't know where to start',” she said. 

And thus starts the journey towards a little black box.

Christina said the process involves deciding on a budget, style, diamond, and design.

“Once we have a basic concept of a ring, I then source the diamonds.”

“That's the most important part of the process because it is the expensive part.” 

From there, the design and diamonds are sent off to a jeweler that Christina trusts, to be made into that symbol of forever.

While navigating the twists and turns of ring hunting can cause a great deal of anxiety, Christina said her business provides a service to people who don’t know who to trust, where to start or how much money to spend.

“Discretely of course,” she said. 

But once the diamond hunt is over, Christina said the adventure doesn’t end there.

“Once I hand the ring over they really love to share how they’re going to propose,” she said.

“It’s nice to be part of a positive experience for people.

“I love being involved with the romance of it all.”

What started as a light-bulb moment in the middle of the night, stemmed from her own proposal story with husband James.

“When James proposed to me it was kind of fascinating to me that he'd researched it for months,” she said.

“I'm at a point in life where I needed to do something from the couch with my kids, and this idea just followed me around like a bad smell for months.

“It's lovely to be doing something that I can do with my kids in the house.”

While many of Christina's clients are bush blokes, clients from Brisbane to Cairns have also gone west to use the Diamond Hunter.

Working from a home office on a rural property can have its difficulties, but Christina said when speaking to clients after the process is done, many of them don't see a problem with the fact that it wasn’t an option to meet face-to-face.

“They're completely thrilled with the country voice on the other end of the phone and that immediate sort of rapport with someone who is looking out for their best interests,” she said.

“I love that I can operate a rurally-based business with national reach.

“I highly value the community we live in and the country spirit which permeates through my offering, which is winning hearts and bringing me satisfaction in equal measure.”