For those of you searching for Wedding Rings Ideas, it may seem daunting right now! Here are a few pointers to help you on your way to getting them just right.

Planning your wedding is one of the most exciting times in your life! With a whirlwind of decisions to be made in the lead up to the big day, it is all too easy for your wedding rings to be left to the last minute. With a little bit of research and thought, you can avoid your wedding rings becoming a panic purchase.

Your ring is for life – Choose wisely, choose quality!

When organising the big day, there will always be places you can make savings. However, we strongly recommend against cutting corners when it comes to your weddings rings. You’ll always have your memories and beautiful photos of the lovely flowers and table settings to look back from your special day but you’ll wear this ring for the rest of your days. While sterling silver is a beautiful precious metal, it won’t offer the same durability as the precious metals commonly used in wedding and bridal jewellery. If your budget allows, choose White Gold, Platinum or Palladium. Also, there really are no rules when choosing your rings so feel free to choose the style you love. You and your partners rings don’t have to match.

Engagement Ring Considerations

Your wedding ring should be made in the same metal and carat as your engagement ring. The harder metal will wear and cause damage to the the softer metal.  It’s best for your rings to compliment each other. For example, with an ornate engagement ring, a simple classic band will look great. To sit neatly together, consider opting for bespoke rings. A custom made wedding ring in Ireland generally costs the same as a wedding ring purchased in high street jewellers. If you’d like to find out more contact us with a photo of your ring and/or the style you like and an approximate budget and we’ll get back to you with details on the design

Personalise your wedding bands

When it comes to engravings, the good news is almost anything is possible. You can even have each others signatures engraved on. Or a simple name and date you exchange vows is always a lovely touch. You may prefer to declare your love to the world with an inscription on the the outside of your wedding rings. Or use ancient Irish Ogham lettering inside of your rings so only the two of you will understand your message.

Watch: Here we’ve compiled a collection of  bespoke wedding rings to give you some ideas! From Ogham to diamonds anything is possible.

Designed & handmade by Irish jewellery designer Eileen Moylan

 

This week it was reported that a quantity of silver bullion was recovered off the Irish coast south west of Galway. When I first saw this story I presumed it was a small quantity that had been discovered by accident but it turns out the find consisted of 1.4 million troy ounces of silver!! Making it the heaviest and deepest ever recovery of precious metals from a shipwreck.

I did a few calculations to give you a sense of how much silver that is. 1 troy ounce is equivalent to 31.1 grams, which puts the total weight of silver found at 43,540 kgs, that’s about the weight of ten elephants!

The silver has remained off the Irish coast since 1941 when the merchant ship on which it was being transported sank. The SS Gairsoppa was torpedoed by a German U-boat during the Second World War while it was being used by the British government under their War Risk Insurance programme.  An insurance payment of £325,000 (it’s value in 1941) was paid out to the owners of the bullion by the government, therefore allowing the state to claim ownership. With silver prices at their highest this was a great time to cash in on their investment! It is thought that this find only represents half of the silver and there is another ship 100 miles from the SS Gairsoppa wreck which contains another sizable quantity of silver.

Now like me you might ask how did that much silver lay on the sea bed for 70 odd years without someone going to the effort of recovering it? It turns out retrieving large amounts of silver from a buried ship wreck isn’t the easiest of tasks! The deep ocean explorations company Odyssey Marine Explorations based in Florida who carried out the work need special equipment to cut into the wreck and retrieve the silver. Even if I can’t get my hands on some that forgotten silver it’s nice to know it’s hidden off our coast just waiting to be found.