How To Make Your Own Wedding Ring

For most weddings — particularly in Western culture — the exchange of rings is both sentimental and an important part of the ceremony.  
 
 It is believed that humans were wearing wedding bands as far back as 4800 years ago in ancient Egypt when sedges and rushes were formed into loops around the finger at ceremonies. 
 
 Let's be honest, nowadays you probably want something more than a river reed wrapped around your finger. So, we’ve decided to explore how you ladies can design your own wedding band from start to finish. We feel such a personal day should be unique to you in every sense, the ring being no exception! 
 

The wedding band has become a simple plain band of a precious metal, but it used to be much more elaborate, embellished with beautiful engravings, stones and different types of precious metal.

The Church discouraged such rings as they were believed to be worn by pagans who were disbelievers in Christianity. So, the bands were considerably simplified to represent a “symbol of the union of hearts.” 

Nowadays, we aren’t bound by such restrictions, so here are some top tips on designing your own! 

Creating a ring at a ring making workshop is much less expensive than you’d pay in the average jeweller and, more importantly, it’s more romantic and personal than buying mass-produced rings. 

Firstly, you need to get in contact with whoever is holding your workshop and they’ll explain the process and order in your materials. 

When you’re there, the experts will help you to melt down your gold and mill and shape the rings according to your requirements. Never again will that rhombus-shaped ring finger trouble you! 

When the metal has cooled you can tart it up a bit – filing, buffing and polishing them to a professional standard. 

Below are a few of the many workshops available, so be sure to check a few out, if none of these are within a convenient distance for you, then there are plenty of others that are not mentioned, they’re only a google away! 

You, of course, have a choice of what metal you want. Gold, white gold, silver, platinum or palladium are usually the most popular and widely available. The tutor will encourage you to be exorbitantly romantic and sculpt each other’s rings and many of them encourage photos and videos to be taken throughout the day.  

Note: Many workshops do insist that if you want to have stones set into the band then the tutor must be notified beforehand as the stones may need to be ordered. The average pricing of each material available is subject to the workshop you’re attending and also the price of the metal. Though, here are some average costs, so you and your partner know what to expect. 

  

18ct yellow gold / £85.00 per gram
 The average pair of 18ct gold wedding rings weighs approx. 13g

18ct white gold / £85.00 per gram
 The average pair of 18ct white gold wedding rings weighs approx. 13g

platinum (950) / £95.00 per gram
 The average pair of platinum wedding rings weighs approx. 15g

palladium (950) / £65.00 per gram
 The average pair of palladium wedding rings weighs approx. 11g

9ct yellow/white gold / £55.00 per gram
 The average pair of 9ct gold wedding rings weighs approx. 11g

silver (925) / £45.00 per gram
 The average pair of silver wedding rings weighs approx. 9g

18ct mixed gold / £90.00 per gram
 The average pair of 18ct gold wedding rings weighs approx. 13g

The jewellery school is pretty much the same format as the workshops, though you’ll have the opportunity to have dedicated one-on-one tuition. 

The process begins with an informal consultation, where you can come along to the studio and meet the jeweller. They will take your ring sizes and show some samples to help you decide on your materials and ring shape.   Below are some jewellery schools. 

There are websites that enable you to design your own engagement rings and wedding bands. Such sites allow you to build your rings from scratch. For example, if building an engagement ring, you can choose the cut, quality, and size of the stone. Then choose surrounding stones and the style of the band and finally the precious of metal of your choice. 

Every element to the ring is priced up individually and then you're given a total in your basket. The ring is digitally built before your eyes on the website. 

Tip: It’s actually quite a fun exercise to give it a go and make the most extravagant ring possible. 

Engraving is the cherry on the sundae, the ultimate personalisation and a reasonably cheap means of customising your wedding ring. All the jewellers mentioned in this blog offer engraving and costs range across the sites from £15-30. This allows you and your partner to put a smoochy message somewhere on the band to make the entire process utterly romantic.

If you already have your heart set on a wedding band that is purchased from a shop, then there are plenty of jewellers that will engrave it and it is never too late to get it done!