Best of Both Rings

Some of our favorite inlays come from setting materials side by side that seem like they don’t belong together. Toryn is a touring musician who calls Michigan home, and he needed a wedding band. He pictured a ring that would look bold black and gold in everyday light, then come alive with a warm glow under UV, inspired by two of our signature inlay rings.

The black and gold came from our Gold Megalodon Shark Tooth Ring. Megalodon teeth are fossils from a shark that went extinct millions of years ago, and they darken as minerals from the surrounding sediment slowly replace the original tooth. Crushed into an inlay, that dark fossil forms the base, and 24k gold leaf, hammered thinner than paper, throws back every bit of light. The original ring puts that pairing on a solid yellow gold band. Toryn wanted it on black titanium instead, to push the contrast further.

For the glow, he turned to a stone from his own backyard. Our Yooper Glow Stone Ring is hand-harvested from the Lake Superior shoreline of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and it looks like ordinary lake stone until UV light finds it. Honest Hands may be based in Colorado, but we have deep Michigan roots, and the state often shows up on our bench, from the Keweenaw copper to Petoskey stones. We make sure every Mitten State inlay material we use is authentically and ethically sourced from its lakeshores and landscapes.

We started with the band. Early on, Toryn requested our free ring sizing kit, which lets you try sample bands at home before we cut anything. We handcraft every ring to order, so the fit has to be right before the lathe starts, and the kit let him test widths and sizes. He settled on 8mm black titanium, wide enough to show off the inlay. It’s lightweight and hypoallergenic, so it wears comfortably whether he’s on the road or at home. Small bevels round off both edges for a smooth feel. Heat treating gives the band its dark finish, drawing an oxide layer into the metal's surface so the black won’t fade.

Sorting the tooth came next. Its color shifts from one fragment to the next, and some pieces carry gray or whitish patches that would muddy the contrast against the gold. We hand-sorted only the darkest pieces.

Under ordinary light, Toryn’s ring is black titanium flecked with gold over deep fossil, the contrast he first picked out from our store. Every Yooper Glow ring ships with a small UV keychain light, and when Toryn clicks it on, the stone wakes up in gold and red points across the band, like crackling embers beneath the surface.

When you browse our ring shop, it’s easy to find one that’s close but not quite yours, or two you wish were one. You don’t have to pick between them. Our Workbench Ring Designer carries every inlay material we use across our ready-made rings, so you can choose your band and inlays, from turquoise and moss agate to elk antler and gold leaf. This is a great way to let your creative juices flow and try unconventional material pairings. If you’d rather work through your idea with a person, our team is a message away.