See the 'Vintage-Inspired' Engagement Ring Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner Gave to Theresa Nist (Exclusive)

On Thursday’s finale of 'The Golden Bachelor,' Turner proposed to Nist with a handcrafted princess cut ring designed by the franchise’s go-to jeweler Neil Lane

Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner chose an engagement ring for Theresa Nist that’s befitting their fairytale love story.

The franchise’s first Golden Bachelor proposed to the second great love of his life in Thursday’s season finale, and Nist, 70, said an emphatic “yes” to the 72-year-old widower. When Turner got down on one knee he presented his fiancée with a gorgeous Neil Lane ring that spoke to the incredible journey they’ve been on as they found love again after both losing their spouses.

“The symbolism of it is so important,” Turner tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It was just like, the minute she slipped it on, again, it was like, ‘Oh, my god, this is that joyful happiness that I want to feel, that I want everyone to see.’”

Related: Gerry Turner Gets Engaged in The Golden Bachelor Finale — and Leaves His Other Finalist Feeling 'Blindsided'

Turner chose a princess cut diamond ring accented with two baguette cut diamonds, and further set with 128 small, round brilliant cut diamonds for a total weight of 3.15 carats. The ring was handcrafted and hand signed by Lane, who revealed to PEOPLE why designing this ring felt so different from the past engagement rings he has crafted for Bachelor nation winners.

The famed celebrity jeweler noted that The Golden Bachelor has “brought a lot of people closer together” with its honest depiction of finding a second chance at love later in life. For Lane, this made crafting Nist’s ring all the more special.

“I think maybe we were losing the significance of a ring for a while, and now we have two people that really... that significance of the ring, even though it's a small little jewel, it embodies their affection, their future, their lives together,” he says. “It's more profound in a way… maybe it's a different profoundness.”

The choice of a princess cut ring with its square stone and intricate layers felt especially fitting for Turner and Nist’s relationship.

According to Lane, the “brilliance” of the “vintage-inspired” ring drew Turner in, because it reminded him of Nist.

“The design, the elegance, it's not simple, but it looks at first very elegantly simple on the top. But then when you hold it to the side you see how complex it gets,” Lane tells PEOPLE.

He continues, “The diamonds all sparkle all over. He [Turner] remarked that's the way he saw Theresa. Elegant. I wouldn't say simple but easy. But then when you get closer, there's such depth. There's such warmth. There's so much in the ring. There's so much in her life. There was so much detail. I think that's what he really was attracted to, the amount of detail and attention.”

Happily, Nist is in love with her engagement ring — and incredibly glad to finally be able to wear it now that America knows she received the final rose.

“It was gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous,” she says of her ring. “I get to wear it, finally. It's been such a long time. They took this away from me so quickly. It's beautiful, beyond. Beyond, beyond. So gorgeous. I love it.”

Related: Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner Reflects on a Few 'Failures' Trying to Date After His Wife's Death (Exclusive)

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For Nist, the ring is extra special because it’s her first diamond ring. When she first married her childhood sweetheart, Billy, in 1972, she was given a simple gold band as her husband prepared to ship off to the Vietnam War.

She adds, “There was no diamond ring. There was a gold wedding band, which I have. So yeah, there was no diamond ring. So this is brand new and amazing.”

In the finale, Turner found himself choosing between Nist and Leslie Fhima. However, he already knew the financial service professional had his heart. While he says he truly meant it when he told Fhima and Faith Martin that he loved them in the moment he said it, he also knew there was only one woman he couldn’t live without after he first told Nist he loved her in the fantasy suite.

“The first time that I seriously told her that I loved her. It was almost an announcement of excitement,” he shares. “I said it three times in a row, ‘Theresa, I love you. I love you, I love you.’ And I go, ‘And I'm going to ask you to marry me. I don't know if you're going to say yes, but I'm going to ask you.’ So for me, when I got to the final episode and the engagement was about to happen, I was very confident that she was my person, 100% confident.”

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