“We’re both creative and love learning. We felt that the rings would be most meaningful if we made them for each other!” – Dina Levy
One of the best parts about having your wedding rings custom made in the Fairina Cheng workshop is getting a behind-the-scenes view into how your special piece came to life.
Dina and Rob decided to take it one step further, and try their hands at crafting each other’s wedding rings from scratch.
Note: I’ve known Dina since university and we organised this workshop as a fun one-off project. While I don’t do private classes at the moment, this was the perfect opportunity to give you a sneak peek into how wedding bands are made!
Image credits go to Rob, who was snapping away on his camera throughout the day-long workshop (although this meant that he didn’t get to star in many of the photos)!
The wedding ring-making process (in pictures)
We started right from the beginning. With bars of 18ct rose and white gold for Dina’s ring, and 9ct white and yellow gold for Rob’s ring.
Rob made Dina’s ring. Dina made Rob’s. And each ring featured a stripe of gold in a different colour down the centre.
The bars were rolled through the rolling mill to form them into flat strips of metal.
Once the bars were the right thickness and length, they were bent into rough ring shapes and each fit with a strip of gold in a contrasting colour.
Using the flame of a torch, the rings were soldered closed at high temperatures.
Then, they were hammered into perfect circles on a tapered steel rod called a mandrel. Once round, the rings were filed to shape and cleaned up with graduating grades of coarse to fine emery paper.
Dina’s ring was polished to a mirror finish. Rob’s ring was hammered to create a rustic, textured effect.
Rose gold. White gold. Shiny. Textured. Two very different rings. One unique story.
What do they think of their rings?
Dina said, “Rob loves working with his hands. His job involves 3D printing and fancy robotics and he can fix up a motorcycle with his eyes closed (not literally). I’ve always loved creating and used to design and sell prints and cushions online. So sharing the exploration of new skills and creative pursuits was so fitting for our interests”.
“Only two things have changed since we got married. People now ask us if things have changed since we got married. And we wear our handcrafted, personal rings all the time. They are a daily reminder of the care that we give to each other!”
Want to design your own story telling wedding ring?
While I don’t organise ring-making workshops as a standard service, I am very happy to chat about working together to create a very special piece of your own. In addition to a unique, story-telling design, you’ll get a personalised, behind-the-scenes view into how your ring came to life!
Book a call or send an email to start the conversation.
