A Simple Gold Ring

30 Aug A Simple Gold Ring

My friend and colleague Andrew Berry asked me a tough question once.

(Only once.)

Let’s say you are only allowed to make 1,000 pieces of jewelry in your lifetime, he said. And you’ve already made 999 pieces. What would your final piece be?

It might seem like a simple question, but it wasn’t. (The title of this article gives away my answer, but let’s carry on anyway.) I could make a hinged neckpiece with oscillating bezel settings suspended from universal joints at 12 points around the piece. I could make body armor. I could make a tiara with LEDs and an audible soundtrack with a Lady Gaga and Emmylou Harris mashup.

All of which would take FOREVER so that I could go on making for years to come, just on that one “piece.” (The licensing alone for the musical mashup would delay my finale for quite some time.)

Turns out none of that came to mind in the moment.

A classic simple gold band.

I decided the best piece to be my final piece would be a simple gold ring. What holds more universal meaning, more symbolism, more history?

The warmth of yellow gold, the familiarity of the gold itself, the durability and universal meaning of a plain gold band…. Call me sentimental, but I dig all that.

Andrew and I like to come together online to explore all the various aspects of a life spent making jewelry. I sometimes think our online chat sessions are a form of reality television for jewelers. We laugh, and we share ideas. And there may or may not be some “friendly banter.” You decide.

Some of our previous chats can be found on my YouTube Channel. 

Andrew is the technical wizard behind the best way to learn jewelry making online – At The Bench. Check it out.