How to Customize Rings

Custom ring

Rings are a personal, highly visible piece of jewelry that can hold a lot of meaning to the wearer. Whether it's a wedding set, promise ring or just a special occasion piece of jewelry, customizing a ring makes it just that much more important. There are many ways to customize a ring, no matter if you are starting from scratch with the design, or hoping to add a unique touch to a simple band or existing ring.

Instructions

1. 

   Engrave the interior of a plain gold, silver or platinum band to customize it. A perfect solution to customizing existing rings, take your bands to a jeweler and have them engraved with an important date, initials or brief sentiment. An engraved ring is like a special secret that only you and the ring wearer know. Engraving is a thoughtful and inexpensive way to make your rings unique.

2. 

   Create your own design. Draw a 3-by-1-inch rectangle and draw on a design. Look at lots of existing rings in catalogs or history books and get inspired to create your own floral motif, geometric design or whatever your mind can conjure up. Take your ideas to a goldsmith or jewelry maker and ask him to make it a reality for you.

3. 

   Add an heirloom gem. Take the diamonds out of an old pair of earrings or remove a gemstone from an inherited bracelet and have a goldsmith add it to your existing ring. This is a great way to take a plain ring and give it special meaning. Simply take your existing jewelry along with the donor piece to your jeweler. She can give you advice on how to add the stone to your existing rings and help you design your unique piece.

4. 

   Build a ring online. If you are trying to customize a wedding or engagement set, there are numerous jeweler websites that will help you create a special ring. You can choose the type of metals, number and size of gemstones, as well as the shape and placement of stones. You can see your creation develop right before your eyes and you can control the costs by changing aspects of your ring to fit your budget. Order your custom ring online or print out your specifics and take it to your favorite local jeweler to create it for you.

Tips & Warnings

• Look at lots of reference materials to help inspire your own creation. Peek at current ring catalogs, browse art festivals, look at historic jewelry and think about patterns and shapes you see in everyday life to help you develop your custom design.

• Don't underestimate your costs. If you are designing a ring from scratch you have to consider the price of the metal you want to use, as well as the individual cost of gemstones. Using your own metals and existing gemstones will help save money.

References

• Customrings.com
• Ringdesignonline. com

Resources

• Treemaker.com