finally…

The time has come for me to create my own lovely engagement ring. We (me and my guy) created the design together, and the experience was beyond special. Through the entire process, which was seven months long, there were more tears than I care to admit, though they were, most assuredly, tears of joy when this final beauty came out of the fires.

Before I go any further, I’m going to admit that initially, I was going to ask for a ‘more professionally designed and made’ ring, and there were a few times that I suffered through emotional breakdowns, feeling like my skills were just not good enough, comparing my work to other designers.

Anxiety can be one terrible enemy, but the truth is that it was in these very moments of struggling with my abilities and emotions that I found the greatest learning and growth. Each time I found myself ready to give up, I felt a steadying hand on my back, sometimes verbally, over the phone, sometimes physically, through a loving hug, and it was ever the same…you can do this…have faith in yourself…you are amazing…never doubt that. Through the tears and frustration, I would get up, thinking of all the cool custom pieces I’ve made in the past, and I’d dive right back in, determined to create a masterpiece of our own love.

We labored over every detail of the design and meaning, and I can’t even begin to describe how thrilled we are with the final design and creation. Without exaggeration, I’ve sketched dozens upon dozens of ideas, I researched several of our favorite stones and meanings, and I’ve made six or seven prototypes. In hindsight, I wish I had taken more photos of the process, but it is still a journey that will be thoroughly remembered with joy and a heart overflowing with emotion.

Once we felt particularly good about the last few design ideas and meanings, more prototypes began. Some of them were pretty, some were just awful in my eyes and were destroyed and used on different ideas to avoid wasting materials, but I did get a few snaps of the process, as I chose the stones, compared styles, and ultimately made final decisions about the engagement ring, as well as entertained ideas of our wedding bands. {another post on that process coming soon}

• 

• 

• 

Here, I would like to add that while I was creating these prototypes, I was attempting to avoid waste in materials, so some ‘stones’ were created out of melted silver, some inexpensive varieties were used as stand ins, and some were created from beads, riveted to the piece, all in an effort to have a physical representation to wear without being wasteful in any way.

At this point, I thought I really loved this ring. I felt like this was it, so I bought the gold and chosen gemstones {morganite and diamond} and set to work on the final engagement ring. After breaking two stones and nearly melting the entire ring to pieces, it was finally complete. I cried. I was so happy. I couldn’t wait to share it with my fiance. It was our engagement ring, the first half of the journey to realize the symbol of our love was alive.

Much to my heart’s chagrin, after wearing the engagement ring for a few months and loving it, I became unhappy with the rapidity with which the morganite became dingy and needed cleaning. Additionally, after considering plans for the wedding band, I felt that the arch was just too tall, so I did a few more sketches and altered the design until it felt just perfect. We researched more stones and discovered moissanite, an utterly gorgeous stone that is as hard as a diamond and originally was discovered in a meteorite. Feeling that our love truly was astronomical, we felt that this stone would be perfect.

…and one day, I set to work, cutting the old ring down to create the new, more perfect-for-us engagement ring.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Why didn’t we choose a diamond for the larger stone on our engagement ring? We didn’t want a diamond as the large stone, because ‘everyone’ gets a diamond, and we felt {still feel} that we are different. Our love is of a different caliber that deserved to be represented by something just as wonderful as a diamond, but also…different. Initially, we chose morganite because of the reference to divine love and enduring love; however, after experiencing its fragility and tendency to collect dirt, moissanite seemed a more lasting option. The small diamond on the engagement ring represents one of our hearts; the joining wedding band will have another small diamond to represent the other of our hearts, both coming together and ascending to a higher splendor, as we journey through this life, together, as one. This gorgeous beauty is our beloved final product, and we are so pleased to say that it is absolutely part of us, a true representation of our love.

I feel so utterly grateful to have been blessed with the skill and ability to design and create our own engagement ring, and honestly, I just can’t wait to get started on and show you the complimenting wedding rings that we’ve designed together!

I hope you enjoyed following on this journey. If you have any thoughts or comments, please share them with me below. Would you like to see more about our life, our house, my work in the studio? If there’s something you’d like me to share more of on my blog, please let me know, so I can create an even better experience!

Interested in having your own custom designed ring created? I’d love to be part of creating your vision. Contact me, and we’ll chat.