ring

The one thing I would save in a fire

If there was a fire in your house and you only had 1 minute to save anything, what would it be?

Aside from my handsome giant 6’6 Irish boyfriend, who I am hoping is conscious and can get his own rig out of the house (imagine trying to carry a human this size when you are 5’3), I would run hard and fast to my vintage crystal jewellery bowl. Being a jeweller, I obviously have many precious jewels, but none more so than this ring


My grandma Pearl left me this ring when she passed away. I was only a little tracker then, being a jeweller wasn’t even on my radar ( I was probably more focused on becoming the Pink Power Ranger), and I had zero idea it would become my most valued possession.

First glance, it’s a pretty gold ring with some sweet geometric fan detailing, but that is only a smidge of what makes this ring soooooo rad. Here’s the rest…..

This beauty is the first ring my grandad ever gave my grandma. They would have been sweethearts in love, Valentine’s Day was coming around and my grandad was getting his mooshy lovey dove on. He picked this ring, had “My Valentine” stamped on the inside of the band and hand-engraved himself “To Pearl, Love Alan”.

Years of my grandma wearing this ring and now years of me doing the same, have worn the engravings a little bit, but you can still see it (with Coke bottle glasses and a Pop Eye squint).

My granparents lived in Wangaratta in a two-story house on a big block of land that required a ride-on mower, my fav activity to do with my grandad. They had plum trees which my grandma turned into jam, an old caravan full of wool for her knitting, a shed full of tools and bottled snakes where my grandad made and fixed EVERYTHING, an old blue Kombi camper for trips to their farm and a cupboard full of chocolates and treats my grandma would sneakily give to my sister and I, followed by “don’t tell your mum”. Grandma was more commonly known as ‘Boss’, cemented by the mug she drank her tea from with the same name. They were the type of grandparents you literally dreamed of as kids and I miss them dearly.

All of these blissfully sweet memories flood back to me when I wear this ring. My fortunate childhood, time with my family and knowing I was supremely loved, even though I was a turd of a child ( ask any of my relatives, they will vouch for my turdiness).

Wearing this ring nearly every single day on the same finger on my right hand, even though it is way too big for that finger, but it doesn’t feel at home anywhere else, I am reminded of what’s really important to this little jeweller and that my grandma is always with me. She keeps me in check and makes sure I am okay. My hand actually feels naked if I don’t have it on, followed by a frantic panic to try and remember where it could be.

Hands down, it is the one possession I have, that would devastate me if I lost it. Most other things could burn in that fire and I would replace them with time, but this ring could never be replaced and its value to me is more than all my other possessions put together.

I love how jewellery stirs up all them feels.

So now tell me, what would you save?

Something special

I recently finished a ring that is so awesome I have to share it. I don’t mean awesome as in “Oh look at me, I’m such a good jeweller.” I mean awesome as in the clients are awesome (also good friends), the concept of the ring is beyond awesome, the finished product is awesome and we are all feeling totally awesome about it now it’s on the finger of the owner.

So here it is, the ring of awesome.

meng ring 1 72 dpi meng ring 3 72 dpi

This beauty is a mens engagement ring made from palladium, with an 18ct white gold setting on the inside of the band with a cool little party sapphire in it.

Now here’s the most awesome part of this ring, the concept……………

The first part of the concept resulted in the stone being set on the inside of the band. You see, one half of this loved-up couple is a keen surfer and at the start of the courtship it was made very clear that the ocean was indeed his lover and his lady was his mistress. As time ticked on and the relationship continued to blossom into love those priorities shifted and the beloved ocean then became number 2. The new lover wanted her wave hungry fellah to always be reminded of her when he was spending time with his mistress. By having the stone on the inside of the band it leaves an imprint on the finger when taken off. This way he can never forget who his heart truly belongs to. Isn’t this just the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard? Well it gets better……..

meng ring 2 72 dpi

When we started talking about ideas for this ring there was a beautiful story of a ring in the family that contained a sapphire with a flaw. Typically flaws in stones bring down the value and are seen as ‘ugly’ but not to one little girl, who’s memory of this ring and it’s stone is total beauty. A love of something even though it was imperfect. A love of something for just being the way it is. This was also how she described her relationship. A complete acceptance of one another, a total understanding that this is who I am and I love you for who you are, flaws and all.

So off we went on a little adventure to find a small sapphire with a noticeable inclusion, could we find one? No, but what we found was way better! A party sapphire!

preview_emrPty01

Party Sapphires have a combination of colours in them, typically blues, greens and yellows. Some would see this as undesirable because it isn’t perfect, but what we saw was a way to explain the love this relationship was formed on. We picked a beauty, mostly yellow as that is his favourite colour, with a dash of blue and green through the middle.

meng ring 4 72 dpi

On the outside of the band there is a little hole for the light to sneak in and a hint that there’s a whole lot more going on inside the band than there is on the outside. A little secret between 2 lovers. A personal tale, told through jewellery they can pass onto their kiddies and grand kiddies.

An awesome ring for 2 friends that have shown me all kinds of awesome as both individuals and now as sweethearts.

I hope this encourages more people to really think about what their loved ones mean to them. Choose a ring that says this. Choose a ring that’s handmade. Choose to support Australian design and craftsmanship.