Introducing WoodenGold's mountain ring, probably my favourite piece to make. It makes an absolutely fantastic handmade wedding ring, if I do say so myself.
What makes the mountain ring so beautiful?
What makes the mountain ring so beautiful is that it encapsulates so much character. The design is perfect for those that love nature, the wilderness, the adventure.
Some people call it an elven ring, a Celtic ring or an ancient ring.
This is due to using the sand cast method combined with hand carving to create a texture that doesn't just represent the icon of a mountain but explores the intricacies of a rock face itself.
After selling hundreds of mountain rings over the past eight years, I have compiled a list of comparison points between a mountain wedding ring from WoodenGold and other types of gold wedding rings.
The mountain ring compared to a plain ring bought on the high street
Customers have raised the following points over the years, so I hope you find them useful.
(I am of course extremely biased towards my work because I love it so much).
Aesthetic
First is the obvious, the aesthetic. The mountain ring is highly characterful where as the high street ring is the simple classic design.
Weight
The weight is a huge contrast to high-street options, which is the same with all my work,
The mountain ring here weighs in at around 5-7g of gold. The high street band which is classed as "Heavy" weighs 2.8g in the large 'T' size.
Technique
High street retailers roll out rings into a flat length and then bend and join them in the middle. I cast my mountain rings as one solid, seamless piece.
Custom sizes
High street rings come in full UK sizes. I make my mountain rings specifically for whatever size you are, including half sizes and sometimes even quarter sizes.
Handmade vs. mass-producing your mountain ring
My mountain rings are made by me, a ringmaker, for you! High street rings are mass-produced and sold by sales assistants.
If you buy this mountain ring it will support my family (of 5) rather than a global supply chain.
Other types of handmade mountain rings from other artists
The Silhouette
Here we have the type of mountain ring that I call "The Silhouette".
This is where a jeweller displays the beauty of the mountain through capturing its profile in a simple and beautiful line drawing.
The Icon
Next we have "The Icon", where the jeweller has depicted the mountain in its two-dimensional aspect and engraved directly onto the face of a ring.
This type of mountain ring is good as it directly represents the mountain as an image that is instantly recognisable.
A cool Jeweller in New Zealand called Ash Hilton makes these.
My own WoodenGold Mountain Ring
Finally, we have my very own mountain ring.
In my work I have tried to represent the aspect of the mountain that I find most beautiful, and that is the form and texture.
I love the intricate beauty combined with the dangerous power of the mountain, and I have tried to capture that drama with the technique of hand carving combined with sand casting.
An honourable mention
I wanted to give an honourable mention to this Mountain Ring I found on my travels. It is by a maker called Courtney Reckord,
It doesn't seem to fit into my categories, or maybe fits into all three. Either way, I think it is a very original take on the mountain ring.
Options for your WoodenGold Mountain Ring
Metal
The first option you will have to decide on when picking a mountain ring is whether you have it made in silver or gold.
There is obviously a price difference but there are also some practical differences too.
Gold is generally considered more hard-wearing than silver, but both are fine choices for a wedding ring.
Of course, the more careful you are with any ring the better condition it will stay in.
When making my Black Mountain Ring in silver, I use an oxide solution to turn the surface of the silver jet black. This is because black is the colour of the oxide (or patina) of the silver naturally, and I am just using a chemical to accelerate and control the process of oxidisation.
However, gold as a metal is incredibly inert. This means it hardly reacts with anything, which is why it was a historic choice for storing your wealth.
So, to create the Black Gold Mountain Ring, I have to send the piece off once finished to a specialist who dips the ring in black rhodium. This is why the black costs a little more, I think it is worth it though because the results are truly amazing.
Width
I generally work in three classically defined widths:
slim is 3.5mm
medium 5mm
thick 7mm.
This choice is completely down to preference, as there are not really any wrong answers.
However, one thing to consider is the person's finger width and size of the hand in relation to band width.
Generally speaking the thicker the ring, the more masculine the overall look will be, and the slimmer, the more feminine.
The finish of your mountain ring
The final choice is wether you would like your mountain ring to be raw metal or have a rhodium dip.
The plating/oxide resides in the low points of the texture so as your hands gently buff the surface of your ring, the finish will be protected and not completely rub off.
If you opt for the raw finish, you will notice that you can see much more of the tone of the gold.
This is because on a polished ring the light bounces off and you can see more of the room you are in rather than the finish.
The raw mountain ring however diffuses the light, allowing you to see more of the true tone of your chosen alloy.
Find out more
Thanks for reading my guide on mountain rings.
If you still have any questions, please use the chat function on the website and my wife Lisa will message you back as soon as she can!
If you're feeling inspired, why not browse our online shop?
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