Mark first got in touch with me about making an engagement ring as the planned to pop the question to his girlfriend Justine. A while later I was very pleased to hear from them again about matching wedding bands! They have graciously let me write a little about their rings and share some photos from the journey.

The Engagement Ring.

Mark was very organised - which makes my life much easier! Not only did he have a good idea of what he wanted their engagement ring to look like but he also knew how important it would be to Justine that the ring was as ethical as possible. I agree with her there! Mark and Justine’s faith is also very important so he also came to me with a verse from the bible that meant a lot to the both of them; beginning “I am the vine; you are the branches.”

With all this in mind I started to draw and began making samples in silver. Mark was able to drop by my studio too so he was able to get a good look at what I was making and choose the perfect stone. I sourced a variety of stones from a dealer who supplies fully traceable Sapphires. As well as ensuring fair pay and a safe workplace for their artisan miners they also work with a number of charitable and social enterprises with those local to the areas and countries where the stones are mined.

Once the design and stone was chosen all that was left to do was to go ahead and make the ring! Simple as that eh? There was a lot of fiddly little solder joins involved to place each little leaf in the perfect spot. We also decided on a ring band made of three wires twisted together like vines. Because of the complex design I decided to make a master in silver, have a mould made and the final ring was then cast in 100% Fairtrade 18ct White Gold. Once I got the raw cast back the whole ring needed a good sand and polish to remove the slight texture that appears during casting and then I could set the stone. You might not be aware but white gold isn’t actually pure white. Those shiny white rings you see in the windows of shops on the high-street have all been plated with Rhodium. So that was also the last step for this ring too - to be plated and voila! Ready for the big proposal!

I was over the moon to be emailed these photos of the engagement. What a great spot to choose!

Bespoke Spotlight ~ Mark & Justine