Mokume Gane Wedding Rings
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Scroll down below the pictures for more information about these beautiful wedding rings.
For years, I used only one type of mokume in my rings and other jewelry, except for a couple of experimental patterns I named “Snakeskin” and “Dragonskin.” Recently, I’ve developed a new pattern called “Green Banks,” described below.
The alloys I use in my original mokume, which I have now named "Red, Green, & Silver", are:
- 18-karat green gold (Many people do not realize that a karat of gold refers to one 24th part of the alloy, by weight. So 18K means a gold alloy that is 18 parts gold, and the other 6 parts something else. What that something else is--silver, copper, palladium, and so on--determines the color of the alloy.)
- 18-karat red gold . I used to use 14K, but I finally formulated an 18K red with a good, strong color, so I’ve upgraded.
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper)
I use the red and green golds because of their high contrast. I mix these alloys myself from the pure metals, because I prefer the colors I can achieve to ready-made commercial alloys.
The silver in "Red, Green, & Silver" is there to act as a separator. Since the silver can be etched away slightly, without affecting the gold, it allows me to create a textured surface. The texture is appealing in itself, and helps the smooth gold lines to stand out. I also usually oxidize the silver to a charcoal black color to further enhance the visual impact of the pattern.
A unique feature of this type of mokume is that there is little or no discontinuity where the ends of the pattern meet.
The alloys in Green Banks mokume are:
- 18K palladium white gold
- 15,5K green gold (An experiment, I couldn’t see any improvement in color over 18K green, so I’ll be upgrading to that on the next batch.)
- Fine silver (99.9% pure)
- Pure Platinum (99.9%)
- 18K red gold
I called it Green Banks because it resembles a red river with green banks, flowing through hills. Experimentation showed that this pattern looks better without etching, so I leave it smooth.
I mix my own red and green gold alloys from the pure metals, because I prefer the high –contrast colors I can achieve compared to ready-made commercial alloys.
If the metals in a mokume pattern are polished too highly, the distinctiveness of their colors can be diminished, so I use a matte finish on the mokume surface.
The inner liner, and the rims if any, can be made of any precious metal, including platinum. I generally put a high polish on these.
Pairs of rings can be made with identical or mirror-image patterns, regardless of size differences.
Different widths of mokume or of rims, comfort fit (where the inner surface of the ring is curved, instead of flat, from edge to edge), stone settings, and varied designs are all available on request. Look in the gallery above for ideas!
