Bespoke Wedding Rings
Some people come to the studio with clear ideas of what they like and others need help in choosing a style. It’s important to match the ring to your lifestyle. If you’re sporty or work with your hands, it may be more practical to aim for a slim profile ring that will enable you to keep your ring on when you’re active. In reality most people don’t want to remove their rings after their wedding day.
As your ring is handmade for you it will fit so comfortably that after a few days you will not know you are wearing it. This is especially important for men’s wedding rings as often this is the first ring a man will have worn.
At the studio you can browse through a range of over 100 handmade wedding rings, many of them unisex in style, showing many variations on unique shapes and textures for you to choose from. Alternatively we can pick out rings you like as a starting point for your own unique wedding ring design
How do I commission a ring?
Contact me to book an appointment at the studio. My studio is a 12 minute walk from either Waterloo Station or London Bridge. Here are directions on Google Maps. I can see you on weekday evenings after you’ve finished work and you may want to come together with your partner, or during the day
You can then spend as much time as you need browsing and trying on lots of wedding and engagement ring samples and we can start to get a feel for what would be the right kind of ring to create for you. I will also take ring sizes and notes on your preferences of precious metal, carat, if any precious stones will be in the design and the all important wedding date
After your appointment I will prepare a quote for you, usually listing precious metal options. If you are happy to go ahead, a non-refundable 50% deposit sent by bank transfer is all that is needed to start the commission
We can then book a second appointment for a week or so later. I will handcarve wax ring models to capture the ideas discussed and ensure we have the perfect fit and dimensions for you. It is good for you to see the ring designs in 3D and get a sense of how the finished piece will look and feel. It is very easy at this stage to tweak designs or adapt styles to perfect your wedding ring.
Once the final ring design is agreed I will hand carve a final wax ring. This ring is then cast in the precious metal of your choice, hand finished, hallmarked at the London Assay Office and set with precious stones and finished with hand-engraving if required.
The remaining 50% balance will be payable just before your final appointment when you will collect your beautiful completed design
Having your wedding rings handcrafted for you is a really enjoyable process. I do understand that planning weddings, though exciting, can be very stressful. I aim to take a little bit of stress out of your big day by taking care of your rings with the minimum of fuss
“In a word - Wow! We spent ages trying to find someone to make our wedding rings and we were running out of hope until we found Tawny. Her jewellery has distinctive character, real style and individuality and perfectly crafted finishes. On meeting her we knew we had found the right person to make our rings. She was a super nice person and completely transparent about the whole process, costs and all. She steered us brilliantly through decision and design with a series of enjoyable meetings. Not once did we feel rushed or persuaded, in fact Tawny went out of her way to make it clear that these rings would be a special part of our lives forever, so she wanted to make sure we were truly happy – she certainly delivered on that. We now have truly individual and amazing rings that we absolutely love.”
Nick & Carien
How much will it cost?
The range of textured handmade wedding rings shown on this site vary from £1,250 depending on the precious stones and metals used, ring size and scale. All bespoke wedding rings can be made in all carats of gold, Palladium and Platinum.
Bearing in mind my idea of slim is at least twice the weight of high street rings, I do not make anything under a 2 mm thickness, especially when textured (as I need some depth to carve into) and really nothing slimmer in width than 4 mm. The exception being a skinny band of platinum if required – as platinum is such a heavy, strong metal it can be made up in very slim styles and still retains strength against wear and tear over the years.
Very heavyweight silver rings for men start at £750. I have made quite a few extremely heavyweight silver wedding rings for men, but in general I would recommend gold for wedding rings as it wears far better over the years. Silver being a soft metal can start looking pretty rough relatively quickly, especially if worn by active people who will be more prone to knock the ring.
Once you have chosen an engagement ring or wedding ring style at your first appointment the quote I provide will be very accurate. This price will only move if the final design is different from the ring quoted.
How long will it take?
Handmade wedding rings usually take about four weeks from the first appointment to collection of the finished rings. Although I have turned around straightforward designs in two week, this is pushing it! Really to ensure the whole process is as relaxed and enjoyable as possible allow about four – five weeks
If you are unable to visit the studio then we can do the whole process via email and phone very successfully, just allow an extra couple of weeks. I have also made many special occasion rings for clients abroad who I never get to meet, again, it just takes good communication and a little more time.
After our first meeting at the studio to show you samples of wedding rings, discuss your requirements and take ring sizings I will create a series of wax models to capture the ideas discussed and ensure the perfect fit for your ring. I am happy to produce as many wax models as needed to work out the designs you like so that you can see these in 3D and get a sense of how the finished piece will look and feel. It is very easy at this stage to tweak designs to reach your ideal wedding ring.
Once the designs are perfected I will cast in the precious metals of your choice and we can also discuss textural finishes, stones and engraving you would like. Often clients like their wedding dates engraved inside their rings or each others’ names. All my rings are hallmarked at the London Assay Office. The hallmark is your guarantee of metal quality and also states the makers initials, where the rings were hallmarked and the year the rings were made.
If the designs are very straightforward, only the initial meeting is necessary and a final appointment to pick up the finished rings completes the process. If visiting the studio is unrealistic, I am happy to work out your designs at a distance – I have made many rings for people overseas and the only thing to take into consideration is that the rings will take a little longer to create, due to wax models being posted and designs refined by instruction over email and phone, but really, this is not difficult and I have made many wedding rings for people that I have never met. Another option is to send me a ring that already fits so that I can take the size from that – this can also work especially well if you would like a ring made for your partner as a surprise. I have made plenty of engagement rings this way
“We had a fantastic time working with Tawny to design our wedding rings! We had all three rings designed to work together and my partners engagement and wedding bands fit together to make one larger ring.
This was a complicated design but Tawny totally got it and helped us work through all the practicalities, resulting in a stunning design that was completely to our budget. We absolutely love them and they are utterly unique”
Stuart & Bryony
Engraving
All engraving is done by hand and is charged per letter or number and can be done in many different fonts. If there is a pattern, date or personal message you would like inscribed inside or outside of your ring this can be done. You can even have your handwriting copied into the inside of a ring for an extra personal touch. You are only limited by the space inside the ring and your imagination!
