• SLIDESHOW: Check out Jenna's sparkler from Schwarzschild

• VIDEO: Inside Jenna and Henry's Texas Wedding 

The secret is out: First twin Jenna Bush, who will marry Henry Hager in Texas tomorrow, has Charles Schwarzschild Inc. Jeweler to thank for that brilliant diamond-and-sapphire engagement ring.

Well . . . the River Road jeweler and, of course, Richmond native Hager, his mother, his great-grandmother, his sister-in-law-to-be and his mother-in-law-to-be.

"It was an awful lot of fun to do it," said Jane Sternheimer, owner and president of Charles Schwarzschild Inc.

Sternheimer found out last July -- while on vacation with her family -- that Hager could use some help with an engagement ring.

Charles Schwarzschild Inc. also had worked with Jack Hager, Henry's older brother, when he got engaged.

As mother Maggie Hager outlined the need for absolute secrecy, Sternheimer said, "I thought how lucky I was to be of service to the third generation of the family."

Sternheimer was already familiar with the diamond from Henry Hager's great-grandmother's ring.

Hager was looking for a classic, conservative ring featuring the diamond and two sapphires. For the band, tiny, brilliant-cut, round diamonds were to be pavé set within a platinum rim.

Sternheimer received the first call around July 17. Hager would need the ring by Aug. 9. (He asked Bush's hand in marriage Aug. 15 during a sunrise hike in Maine's Acadia National Park.)

In search of just the right sapphires, Sternheimer called gem merchant Rajul Gupta in New York. Gupta sent her nearly 70 carats' worth to peruse.

When Sternheimer showed Maggie Hager how the diamond would look nestled between various groups of sapphire, she said, Hager's observations were aesthetically astute.

Sternheimer suggested that the diamond, a nearly flawless, old European-style cut stone, be repolished by Rick Shatz, a New York diamond merchant.

In the meantime, first lady Laura Bush and Jenna's sister Barbara had figured out Jenna's ring size.

Sternheimer commissioned Andy Calabrisotto, who creates handmade fine jewelry in New York, to construct the ring. At that point, she needed it in less than a week.

Engraving the band might take a little extra time, Calabrisotto said. Then she told him whose names the initials "HCH to JWB" stood for: Henry Chase Hager to Jenna Welch Bush.

The ring that arrived Aug. 8 -- Sternheimer can't be specific about cost or carats -- was the result of 125 years of cumulative jewelry experience.

The next day, Henry Hager and his mother visited the Schwarzschild salon.

"It's always a special moment when a young man picks up the ring and knows the idea of the proposal has taken on a new dimension," said Sternheimer.

The groom-to-be left her a thank-you note, and Sternheimer prayed the ring would fit.

Apparently, it fit just fine.
Contact Cynthia McMullen at (804) 649-6361 or cmcmullen@timesdispatch.com.