This collection celebrates the many wonderful variations of people, relationships, and unions. These rings are made in the spirit of connection, and of people taking traditions and making them their own/ and in adapting tradition to make it your own. //
After years of making many rings for many people, I feel that there should not be any rules around engagement ring or wedding rings - or even that people need them if that’s not what suits them. This continually growing collection is made for those who want an alternative perspective on engagement and wedding rings – how they look, what they symbolize, or how they can be combined. Whether that's a simple band as engagement ring, a non-traditional stone design, or inverting the custom and going with an understated engagement ring and then making the wedding ring the one with the stone or the bolder design.
More so than any other type of jewellery historically - the ring can be highly personal and symbolic. A ring can be something that is imbued with emotion and reflects something meaningful to an individual, whether a memory, an idea, a characteristic, a connection, a person or a place.
These rings are all entirely forged by hand in my studio; I can tell you the process of making each one and the provenance behind the materials. Hand forming doesn’t just add to the story of the ring, but in a practical sense is the process of metal fabrication that creates the most durable end product. When metal is worked by hand: rolled out, hammered, and shaped, it gives the metal a ‘grain’, and makes the material harder and denser than cast metal, thus more durable and best suited to last regular wear over many years to come. This is particularly important for rings, which tend to get more wear and tear than other types of jewellery, and especially for ones which are worn daily. These rings are designed to imagine beyond traditional ideas, but the designs and materials are carefully considered to suit their use, with durability and quality at the core of each.
Each ring is made in Fairmined gold. Throughout the year I look for/collect interesting, unique, and high grade stones to make the OOAK rings with, often focussing on stones that can have their provenance traced. These rings are added to the collection periodically as I make them. If you have your own idea in mind, or don’t see a match here, a bespoke ring could be another option for you.
I don’t distinguish any of these rings as either wedding or engagement, or by gender. Any of these rings could also just be a worn as a special piece of jewellery or given as a gift - and not associated with union at all.
Mostly, I hope that the rings in this collection find homes on the hands of people that they speak to.
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These rings are each specifically designed and crafted to withstand daily wear over many years. The particular wear and tear of rings, and especially wedding and engagement rings which are often worn daily, means that the metal type, the design, and the stones all need to be carefully designed and made. There are good reasons why certain materials are associated with engagement rings - diamonds and sapphires, for example.
// Perhaps that could mean a wide gold band as an engagement ring, or an unconventional stone design. - maybe the wedding ring can be the one with the larger gemstone or diamond. Whatever you envision, I hope these rings can act as a wider view on the tradition. A ring that reflects the person its being given to, even if that goes against the traditional rules or standards, is ____
/// should no be any set rules around engagement or wedding rings// rules about what an engagement or wedding ring looks like
Creating an unconventional idea of a wedding or engagementt ring must still consider the longevity and durabity of the materials and make. While an opal or a pearl may be suitable for a ring that is worn from time to time, in a ring worn regularly over years, they will become scratched up and damaged fairly quickly.
and then being able to choose a wedding ring with a stone, or a more bold design to go with it./