The process explained - from order to delivery, how your memorial jewellery is made
You’ve scoured the internet, compared the jewellery on offer and made your decision to purchase a piece from Phoenix by Vaughtons. Thank you!
So… what happens next? Here's how memorial jewellery is made.
Well, first of all, within a few days you’ll receive our welcome pack, which includes everything you’ll need to get started.
If you’ve ordered a ring, we’ll send a ring sizer, which you’ll need to slip over your finger and pull until it’s comfortably tight - that is, until it won’t fall off while you go about your day, but you can still slip it over your knuckle to take it off when necessary. The arrow on your ring sizer will point to a letter, which is your ring size.
Whichever product you order, you’ll receive a spoon and vial, which you’ll use to send us back the ashes. You’ll notice that it’s a very small spoon - 150 milligrams - and we recommend sending two spoonfuls of ashes to Phoenix by Vaughtons. Any ashes we don’t use, we’ll send back with your finished order.
If you’ve ordered multiple pieces - perhaps for other members of your family - we’ll need sizes and ashes for each piece of jewellery. If you intend to wear multiple rings, remember that each finger will have a different size, so choose how you’ll wear them and record each sizing carefully.
Once you’ve recorded your ring size (if required) on the order form, place it with the vial of ashes into the pre-addressed envelope and send it back to us at 16 Well Street, Birmingham B19 3BJ.
Our artisans will get to work as soon as they receive your order form.
The first stage of the process is for us to stamp the ring, pendant or charm and create the cavity into which the ashes and glass will be set. Our workshop has a number of machines, from the small stampers required to make intricate pieces of jewellery right up to the 600-tonne press that produces badges for the Aston Martin DBX.
Sometimes jewellery will require multiple presses to ensure all detail is present, before the pieces are checked, given an initial polish and taken through to the enamelling room.
Here, a blowtorch is used to turn enamel into liquid before it is carefully poured into the cavity. It’s entirely done by hand and we wait for each layer to cool before adding more enamel.
After a certain number of layers, we add the ashes.
We have tested multiple techniques and found the perfect stage for the ashes to be added to the cavity - just deep enough for them to be encased in the beautiful colouring of your chosen enamel, but high enough for them to be clearly visible in your finished piece.
We also take time to carefully grind the ashes by hand, ensuring they become an even, dust-like powder. It’s this process that causes the ashes to sparkle like stars in the night sky, meaning we don’t need to add diamond dust or glitter as many other memorial jewellers do.
Once the ashes have been carefully laid, more enamel is added over the top to encase them in the cavity, keeping them safe for eternity.
We then send the jewellery to be annealed at 800ºC in one of our ovens, which seals the enamel. After cooling, the pieces are sanded and, if necessary, the enamelling process is repeated until a smooth, full finish is achieved.
One more quality check is carried out, before the polishing team get to work, buffing the metal until it is completely free of imperfections.
Only then can we carry out our final quality check, before taking your jewellery to the Birmingham Assay Office to be hallmarked and packaged for delivery.
Why not check out our range of memorial jewellery here
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