Published on by Olivier Maupas-Sehikyan · Wedding Bands
A request for bespoke wedding bands, at my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire
In my profession, every commission entrusts me with a piece of someone's story. Recently, a couple about to be married pushed open the door of my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, near Nantes. They were looking for two bespoke 18-carat gold wedding bands, but I understood very quickly that they did not want traditional rings, the kind one sees everywhere.
Their idea was precise, and it moved me. Beyond the classic form, they wanted a symbol that was dear to them to have a place on their wedding bands. This was not a motif chosen from a catalogue, but a personal mark, full of meaning, that would belong to the two of them alone.
There was a second detail, rarer still: they came with their own gold. They handed me this metal as one confides a secret. It was to be melted down, transformed, and then become two rings once more. Faced with such a gesture, I felt emotion, of course, but also a real sense of responsibility. One does not receive such a material lightly.
A symbol to sculpt in metal
Before picking up a single pencil, I wanted to understand. So the three of us talked at length around the workshop table. What did this symbol represent for them? Should it be visible at first glance, or remain a discreet presence, almost a wink? On which part of the ring should it sit?
These questions seem simple. Yet it is by answering them that one begins to design truly personalised wedding bands. A badly placed symbol gets crushed, lost or looks stuck on. Well conceived, it seems on the contrary to have always been part of the ring.
I loved this moment. Being invited into a couple's world, understanding what matters to them, then finding how to translate it into metal: this is what gives my work as a jeweller near Nantes its full meaning.
The drawing, a first translation
The first sketches were born from this conversation. I looked for the right size for the symbol, its balance with the line of the ring, and the way it would catch the light. Several ideas were drawn, then set aside, until one of them imposed itself as self-evident. The bride and groom recognised it immediately, and that reassured me.
From the couple's gold to two wedding bands: casting, working and polishing
Then comes time at the bench, the part I like best. The drawing first becomes a wax model, which is sculpted, reworked and refined. It is at this stage that the symbol gains relief and its curve follows that of the ring. Everything can be corrected in wax, which is no longer true once the metal has been cast.
Next came the casting. The couple's gold was melted, then poured to become the material of two 18-carat gold wedding bands. I never forget this moment: the gold at first raw and still shapeless, then the metal taking form and beginning to resemble what we had imagined together.
Pieces fresh from the casting are rarely beautiful at this stage. They have their grain, their marks, their rough edges. They must be reworked with a file, adjusted, checked for finger size, and then I work on the engraving of the symbol on the wedding bands so that every detail is crisp without being harsh. Here, there is no stone to set: the symbol itself plays the part of the jewel.
Polishing comes last, and it demands patience. I carried it out in stages, with ever gentler movements, until I achieved a warm, deep lustre. I made sure the symbol blended into the curve of each ring, with no edge to catch and no break. A wedding band is worn every day, for decades: it must be as pleasant to the hand as it is to the eye.
Handing over the wedding bands: the moment I had been waiting for
On the day the couple came back to the workshop, I placed the two wedding bands in front of them, on a simple box. For a few seconds, nobody spoke. Then their eyes lit up. They picked up the rings, turned them between their fingers, searched for the symbol, found it, and the smiles came.
What I saw that day went beyond a client's satisfaction. These wedding bands were no longer mere jewellery. They carried their story, their passion, their plans, and even a little of their substance, since their gold was part of them. I believe they felt it before I even had to explain.
I stood back a little, as I often do at this moment. After weeks of work, seeing a piece of jewellery leave the workshop and enter someone's life is a joy I never tire of. This one will remain etched in my memory as a moment of pure creation.
Dreaming of bespoke 18-carat gold wedding bands near Nantes?
If you are planning your wedding, or simply have in mind a symbol, a memory or a metal that matters to you, come and talk to me at my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire. You are also welcome to bring your own gold, as this couple did. We will take the time to talk, with no obligation, and see together what these wedding bands could say about you.
