The Hobbit opened this weekend to much anticipation and I myself along with many others went to go see it. Being that I work at a jewelry company though, I couldn’t help but think about work as I watched Bilbo put on and remove the One Ring and as he walked through Smaug’s treasure trove (a story for another day).
While there are plenty of sites that offer replicas with the officially licensed ones of course being from the Noble Collection and from Jens Hansen, the maker of the actual prop used in the Lord of the Rings films, as well as many other sites that offer their own replicas and imitations, I wanted to talk a bit about what the One Ring was with its fantasy world powers and Black Speech Elvish script aside.
Plain Domed Yellow Gold Band
In the simplest of terms, the ring itself is really just a plain domed yellow gold band. So if you were thinking of going kind of geeky for your wedding or for jewelry just to wear, but didn’t want to fully commit to a ring with Elvish script written on it, you can start your search there and find some good deals. Plain domed yellow gold bands are offered by any jeweler in the world, so you should be able to find a good price without spending an exorbitant amount on the piece although it won’t come with the fancy Hobbit themed packaging.
If you would like the One Ring in its full glory though, the script on the outside is really just a custom engraving. For accuracy, the officially licensed sources probably carry pieces that are the most reliable in their correctness of Elvish Black Speech, but if you have a picture, our staff jeweler tells me that it’s possible to pretty much put any design on the outside of a ring. For us, we would need to consult on the details of what kind of engraving you would want and the amount of work to go into the piece, but if you’re looking to save, it’s probably a safe bet that you can probably ask around to get a piece custom engraved for you with your desired script. (This is also why there are so many replicas for sale online!)
Now personally, the One Ring, while it sounds cool and geeky to have, doesn’t sound like the most ideal piece for wedding jewelry. It’s really probably something you would have just for yourself on your own to wear because I’m pretty sure saying you want to “rule” over your partner isn’t the greatest way to uphold your wedding vows. (Marriage goes both ways!) In the spirit of the franchise though, if you happen to know Elvish, I would think that writing up a romantic message in Elvish and sending that to a jeweler for custom engraving would be a lot sweeter and even adorable. It’d be something that only yourself, your beloved, and those close to you who share your hobby would be able to know, understand, and appreciate and is a wonderful way to have a personalized spin on your wedding jewelry that makes it totally you. To everyone else who isn’t familiar with it, it probably looks about the same as the One Ring so it’s a good way to show off your geek pride and your special bond with the person you love with a secret message that makes it even more “precious”.
I hope you enjoyed this look into the One Ring and jewelry from popular culture. If you need a consultation on getting a personal engraving, please feel free to contact us and we will put you in touch with one of our staff jewelry experts!