Your wedding and engagement ring are two of the most worn pieces of jewellery, they are very special symbols of your love and commitment and deserve to be worn with pride. Today we’ve been chatting to award winning goldsmith, Miriam Wade about the process of creating your jewellery heirlooms and discovering her incredible talent…
Let start with the design process…
Generally to have a custom wedding ring made can take between three to four months and to have a custom engagement ring made can take between three to five months depending on the design the client is looking for.
The first step when I get an enquiry from a couple is to set up a call and have a chat about what they are looking to have made. We discuss different options that might fit within their budget and I put a quote together based on ideas we have talked about. If the couple are happy to go ahead, I will then work on a few different design drawings based on what we discussed and send them onto the couple. These will either be hand drawn or designed using CAD. We may then either have another call or arrange to meet up and talk through any changes that they want to make or how they want to develop the design.
Once we have a final design then I start making the ring or rings. The design process can take between two to six weeks depending on changes made etc. The making of the ring or rings can take between four to eight weeks, depending on the design. If there are special cut diamonds or gemstones in the design it can take some time to source these.
Once I have the ring or rings made, I arrange to meet the couple again for them to try them on. I do this before any stones are set in case any adjustments are needed in the size or if they want anything changes in the design before the stones are set. When the stones are set the rings get a final polish and then are handed over to the clients.
With a fitted wedding band the process is a little different, as the client generally wants a perfect fit I tend to borrow the ring for about two weeks. Using their ring, I hand carve a wax ring that fits perfectly into it. This wax ring then can be tried on by the client and we can make some changes to the design in the wax model. Once we are happy with the design, the wax model is then sent to be casted in the chosen metal. I clean and polish this up by hand and the client then tries it on again with their ring to make sure they are happy with everything. We then decide if we want any stones set or engraving done on the ring. Once stone set and given its final polish it is then handed over to the clients.
How do you guide couples on decision making when it comes to their precious pieces of jewellery?
I feel it’s very important for couples to have all the information when it comes to choosing their ring, whether in a jewellery shop or having them custom made. Having a ring that suits their budget, lifestyle and any other ring it is worn with. The most important information is that if they are wearing two rings together it is strongly recommended that both ring as are made in the same carat of metal. So if a brides’ engagement ring is 14ct gold then I would recommend that the wedding ring be 14ct gold, same if it is platinum to also have a wedding ring that is platinum. Having two different carat metals worn together can cause the harder metal to wear against the softer metal. For example 9ct gold is harder than 18ct gold and platinum is harder than 9ct gold so I wouldn’t recommend wearing these metals together on the same hand.
When working with couples, I like to get to know about their lifestyle, do they do a to of work with their hands etc. if so I do recommend to go with a harder metal for their rings or remove them when working with their hands and playing sports and swimming. This prevents damage to the rings. I also do have a lot of men come to me looking for cheaper options as they can’t wear rings at work but they still want something that can be customised. I always recommend silver, it is that bit softer than gold but still very strong and much cheaper than gold or platinum.
When designing rings with couples I do like to go through a lot of options from different shaped rings, mixed metals, stones, engraved patterns and also using their own old gold to make the rings.
Do rings follow trends and do you have a signature style you enjoy working to?
As a lot of couples come to me to have rings custom made, they often come with an idea in mind. With engagement rings I do make a lot of classic and timeless designs, a single round solitaire, a halo style ring or traditional trilogy design. But more recently I have seen a lot more brides wanting a gemstone or coloured diamonds as the main stone in their rings with maybe an accent of diamonds along the side of the main stone. I love seeing this as it’s so different and there are so many beautiful options for coloured stones.
Another trend I am seeing when it comes to to having a piece of jewellery custom made is using client own metal, it could be a ring that was handed down from a grandparent or parent or even some old gold jewellery that has been sitting in a box unworn. It’s so lovely working with clients own gold as often these pieces are sentimental and have their own story and now this story is being continued and made into a new piece that may be handed down to future generations.
What useful information would you share with your couples?
I would definitely say to couples to give plenty of time if you are going to have your rings made. It is so important to allow time to design your perfect ring as it will be something that will be worn for so many years, you just want to get this right and not have to rush decisions. If you are tight on time, maybe just go with a simple band for the day itself and then after the wedding have it customised with some stones or engraving.
If you are definitely thinking of having your rings made, do look and see if you have any gold that can be used as with the price of gold at the moment being so high it definitely helps cut down on costs and its a lovely way to reuse old jewellery.
