"The word proposal is such a formal word, for such a romantic gesture. We have centuries of progression behind and before us, and yet all long for that moment that is straight out of a fairy tale."

When Johannesburg jeweller Larry Brown talks about rings, he speaks about romance. "My life legacy is that my job, as a jeweller, made it possible for me to be part of the happiest moment in many a customer’s life."

"You can call me the man who makes dreams come true. At Browns we firmly believe that there is a little girl in all of today's modern women and that they want to feel like princesses on their wedding day.

"Centuries of feminism and calls for the sexes to be equal have not changed that one fairytale moment in many a life when a brave knight will get on one knee and ask his princess to marry him and she will say yes."

Brown said that in this modern day when an answer can be given in a split second via a sms or a question can be asked in a minute with an e-mail, it can only be good to return to a less hurried time when the perfect moment was chosen with great care and attention to detail.

What does the man who trades in romance suggest for a proposal?

"Proposals can range from the sublime to the ridiculous," says Brown. "The most effective way is to ensure that you choose a moment or create an environment that, as it is assumed that you know your partner pretty well by that time, suits her personality. So, do not propose in a hot air balloon if she has vertigo!"

Here are some of his creative suggestions for romantic proposals this year: