golden sparrow design!

i am very excited to announce the opening of my new etsy shop, golden sparrow design!  i all of a sudden began getting lots of requests for custom gold wedding rings, various widths, thicknesses, types of gold, etc. and i realized that gold rings were taking over my silver sparrow designs etsy shop.  that is not my intention for that shop; that shop is for my creative silver jewelry.  so, we now have golden sparrow designs.  i am very excited about it!

when i first started making silver "custom rustic wedding bands" people started asking me if i could recreate the same rustic, hammered look in white gold. i always told them no because i was afraid of "the other white metal".  however, after enough requests, i finally decided to give it a try. 

with a very trial and error process, i painstakingly learned the art of working with gold as opposed to silver. it is a very different experience. i did a lot of research and asked for a lot of help. eventually i started to get the hang of it and i now feel like i have mastered the skill. i never thought it would happen, but i now love working with gold as much as i love working with silver!   so, this new shop seemed like the obvious next step for me.  i hope that you will direct people there if they are getting married and looking for a ring.  some of my bands will remain in the silver sparrow shop for a while, but eventually they will all move over there.  i love the idea that i am making a piece of jewelry that symbolizes a couple's love for one another, and is a potential heirloom to be passed down for generations to come.  i am thrilled about my new shop.  please wish me the best of luck in my new endeavor!


(this also kind of explains my last post, with the gazillion explanations about gold...  that is linked in every listing in my new shop.)


p.s. both shops are having sales right now to celebrate!

kristi's gold rings 101

i know this is going to seem like overkill, but bear with me.  buying a wedding ring is no joke!  i get so many requests for additional photos of my wedding bands, so i decided to just do one big post here with probably more pictures of wedding rings than you would ever want to see.  this is the place for you to look at all the different options for your ring, different widths, finishes and metals.  i hope it can help you to decide which ring is best for you!

yellow, rose and white gold rings with a high shine finish
8 mm in back, 5 mm in front

metal choice:  the three types of gold you can choose from are yellow gold, rose gold, and white gold.

yellow, rose, and white gold rings with a high shine finish
8 mm in back, 5 mm in front

yellow, rose and white gold rings, 8 mm
high shine finish

finish choice: the three finishes you can choose from are high shine, "rustic", and matte.  the rings pictured above all have the high shine finish.  with the "rustic" finish, the rings are oxidized (blackened) and then buffed for a soft, flat finish with no shine.  they have a very antique look.  and the matte finish has no oxidation or shine, just a lovely, soft, flat look.  it is also sometimes called a satin finish.  

yellow, rose, and white gold
matte finish in the back (8mm)
"rustic" finish in the front (5 mm)

white, rose, and yellow gold with rustic finish
8 mm in the back
5 mm in the front

white, rose and yellow gold 8 mm bands with rustic finish

white, rose and yellow gold 5 mm bands with rustic finish

now we will look at each type of gold more in depth.  white gold is first.

these first photos are of the 5 mm white gold band with the high shine finish.

white gold with a high shine looks similar to silver, but the metal is darker and the shine is deeper.

these photos are of the 8 mm white gold band with the high shine finish. 

and these photos are of the "his and hers" set, 8 mm and 5 mm white gold bands with the high shine finish.

these photos are of the 5 mm white gold band with the rustic  finish.

the white gold with the oxidation looks very rich and antique.

these photos are of the 8 mm white gold band with the rustic finish.

and these photos are of the "his and hers" set, 8 mm and 5 mm white gold bands with the rustic finish.

and, finally, comparing the different finishes.

here we have the 8mm white gold band with the high shine finish on the bottom and the 5 mm white gold band with the matte finish on the top.

here we have the 8mm white gold band with the matte finish on the bottom and the 5 mm white gold band with the rustic finish on the top.

and here we have the 8mm white gold band with the high shine finish on the bottom and the 5 mm white gold band with the rustic finish on the top.

this concludes the white gold portion of this tutorial.  next up is yellow gold!

 these first photos are of the 5 mm yellow gold band with the high shine finish.

 a beautiful, classic look, but the hammering gives it a little something extra.

 these photos are of the 8 mm yellow gold band with the high shine finish.

and these photos are of the "his and hers" set, 8 mm and 5 mm yellow gold bands with the high shine finish.

 these photos are of the 5 mm yellow gold band with the rustic finish.

  these photos are of the 8 mm yellow gold band with the rustic finish.

 and these photos are of the "his and hers" set, 8 mm and 5 mm yellow gold bands with the rustic finish.

  and, finally, comparing the different finishes.

here we have the 8mm yellow gold band with the high shine finish on the bottom and the 5 mm yellow gold band with the matte finish on the top.

 here we have the 8 mm yellow gold band with the matte finish on the bottom and the 5 mm yellow gold band with the rustic finish on the top.

 and here we have the 8 mm yellow gold band with the high shine finish on the bottom and the 5 mm yellow gold band with the rustic finish on the top.

this concludes the yellow gold portion of this tutorial.  and now for rose gold!

 these first photos are of the 5 mm rose gold band with the high shine finish.

 rose gold with a high shine finish has a beautiful, copper-y color.  it is also known as copper gold, red gold, or pink gold.

 these photos are of the 8 mm rose gold band with the high shine finish.

and these photos are of the "his and hers" set, 8 mm and 5 mm rose  gold bands with the high shine finish.

  these photos are of the 5 mm rose gold band with the rustic finish.

of the three golds, i think that the rose gold looks the most "rustic" with the rustic finish.  it has a beautiful, rich vintage feel to it.

  these photos are of the 8 mm rose gold band with the rustic finish.

and these photos are of the "his and hers" set, 8 mm and 5 mm rose  gold bands with the rustic finish.

 and, finally, comparing the different finishes.

here we have the 8mm rose gold band with the high shine finish on the bottom and the 5 mm rose gold band with the matte finish on the top.

here we have the 8mm rose gold band with the matte finish on the bottom and the 5 mm rose gold band with the rustic finish on the top.

and the 8mm rose gold band with the high shine finish on the bottom and the 5 mm rose gold band with the rustic finish on the top.