Design story: our wedding rings

Whilst planning my move home to Shetland from London, I reconnected with a man I’ve been friends with since I was 15. We’ve always had a twinkle in our eye for each other but our lives never aligned… until now, 29 years later.

Since moving home we’ve enjoyed walking the coastline together as we reconnected with each other, and with Shetland - the home of our families and fore-bearers.

So when he asked me to marry him, we wanted the design of the rings to be born from this coastline.

We were drawn to the black and silver rocks with yellow lichen growing over them. This colour combination would be the palette, and the geology of the rocks would influence the shapes within the design.

The geology of Shetland is really fascinating. All around the coastline we see rocks of different types which tell the story of how Shetland came to be - through colliding continents, and rock layers being pushed, forced, crumpled, and eroded - and it is through these processes that the precious stones and metals used in our rings were formed.

For my ring, I wanted to combine an engagement and wedding ring into one (Bryan had popped the question using a ring I’d given to him as a gift so I didn’t have an engagement ring!) which allowed me to combine many classic aspects of both rings into one design.

The design features a gem that has been enveloped by lichen after being thrust through metamorphic rocks - a process which would have taken millions of years.

For the centrepiece gem I decided to use a ‘salt and pepper’ diamond. Diamond is the hardest of all gemstones and will stand a lifetime of wear. In bridal jewellery we most commonly see pure, white diamonds. But I am drawn to the unique, dark and brooding ‘imperfections’ (inclusions) of salt and pepper diamonds, and the fact that no two stones are ever the same…much like us as people. I also love that ‘salt and pepper’ diamonds until recently have been considered ‘rough diamonds’ and relegated for use in industrial cutting!

Platinum was my metal of choice for the ring because of the steely, silver colour. Platinum (from the Spanish term platino, meaning "little silver") is highly un-reactive, relatively rare and expensive, and can be difficult to work given its hardness and high melting point. But the result is a weighty and durable piece that won’t tarnish and will hold the detail of its finish.

I used yellow sapphires set in yellow gold to represent the lichen. Sapphires have a beautiful depth of colour which is enhanced by the rich, golden yellow of 18ct gold. Each stone is seated in it’s own little cup and set with a millgrain (or bobbly) edge which adds to the texture and sparkle.

For Bryan’s ring we wanted it to partner mine yet be simple and more rugged. We toyed with the idea of putting a salt and pepper diamond in his ring too, but decided on the raw metal. He has another ring I made for him, which he prefers to wear ‘squint’ so that it doesn’t catch on his little finger knuckle. For this ring we designed it to be ‘squint’ and flow with the natural shape of his hand between his fingers, dipping down toward the little finger and avoiding the knuckle.

After time thinking, planning and dreaming, I was ready to start making. Wax carving was the perfect medium for reproducing some of these organic forms and shapes which flowed and burst and bent around the finger (I wish I’d taken more photo’s of the process!)

It’s a pleasure to make personal and bespoke rings for my clients to enjoy wearing every day for the rest of their lives, and this was my opportunity to use everything I’ve learned from 27 years making jewellery for other people to make wedding rings completely unique and personal to me and my husband.

I love that we designed our rings together, and that they represent us, our story and our homeland. I look forward to us wearing them for the rest of our lives and attaching the memories of a lifetime to them.

Our wedding was an intimate ceremony in our village of Hoswick one sunny afternoon on the veranda of my jewellery studio, with views of the ocean and our immediate families to witness the exchange of these symbols of our love and commitment.

I also made a necklace and earring set to complement my ring. For more photos of the wedding you can check out the “Karlin & Bryan’s Hoswick Wedding” blog on our photographer Ben Mullay’s website, who did an amazing job at capturing images of the day.