How Honest Hands incorporated a trombone's brass into a black titanium wedding band, worth more to him than gold.
Every custom ring here starts with something unconventional. Arcade token, car parts, or dog tag- whatever a customer brings in becomes the starting point, the first thing that draws us into the story behind the ring.
We treat each material with the same care as fine metal or a precious gem. The goal is to honor what it means to the owner and take only what we need. Each one brings its own challenge and tells its own story, making every ring and every creation process unique.
For a musician, the instrument they play can feel like an extension of self, a fifth limb as much as an object. A customer came to us wanting to symbolize that connection in her fiancé’s wedding band. She envisioned a minimalist design that was cohesive with her own band, incorporating a thin line of brass from his trombone, refined enough to pass as fine jewelry rather than raw material.
This ring's plan had to answer one specific question. How do you take brass from a working instrument and make it read as clean and refined as fine jewelry, when brass doesn't cooperate the way precious metals do?
The design called for a black titanium band, a single thin line of the trombone’s brass down one side, and bevels along both edges. Black titanium is tougher than most metals against the daily grip and knocks of years of playing. It's one of the material options in the Workbench Ring Designer for anyone who wants that durability as a starting point.
The brass came from the bell lock on his trombone, a small locking ring where the bell attaches to the rest of the horn. You may not know that a trombone is disassembled into two components in its case. These locks are what join the trombone into one powerful instrument. The team cut only a sliver from it, small enough that the trombone went right back together and played the same as it always had.
Getting there took more than a careful cut. Most of the shop's gold inlays get their seamless look from a laser weld. Brass pulled from a working instrument doesn't take a weld the same way, so a single welded band was off the table from the start.
Instead, the ring came together in three separate pieces: a black titanium piece, the machined brass ring, and a second black titanium piece, pressed together rather than welded. Pressing is what kept the brass running as one unbroken line around the band, with no seam interrupting it.
Once the team pressed the three ring elements into a single assembly, we machined it to its final shape and added the bevels along the edges. We then applied a brushed finish, matching the subtle look the customer had asked for rather than a high polish that would compete with the brass's shine.
The finished ring features a single offset line of brass down the band. Against the matte black titanium, the brass stands out as warm and distinct rather than blending into the surrounding metal. No seam breaks up the line, even up close. Beveled edges frame the flat face on both sides, giving the band more shape than a single flat surface would.
Back home, the trombone is missing only a small sliver near the bell lock, and it plays exactly the way it did before this ring was made. Now, the instrument stays with him even when it's not in his hands.
If you know what you want, start with our Workbench Ring Designer. Choose your band material and inlay style, add features like engraving, and get an estimate. No commitment, just a conversation. If you're still working through the concept, our team is just a message away to help finalize the idea. No matter where you are in the process, we’re here to help at every step to spark creativity and say yes to your craziest ideas.
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