Category Archives: Inspiration

Creative Jewellery, Inspiration comes from many places, leaves, poems, stories and of course Love.

Oh, Really? Are Women Buying Their Own Engagement Rings?

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Is the concept of Australian men or fiancee’ paying for engagement rings an old tradition that’s ebbing away or is it growing stronger?
According to information from the United States, more and more couples are splitting the costs. This is a good idea since the partner gets the ring they desire and there are no unnecessary surprises. Some would argue, and rightly so, that this could lead to diminished romance.
Should it be mandatory for the man to buy the engagement ring, even in instances where the wife-to-be makes significantly more money than the man?

Oh really? Women are actually buying their own engagement rings, or at least splitting the costs?

diamond rings sydney

According to the “Cut and the Knot”, this is true as there is an ever increasing willingness amongst engaged couples to split the engagement ring cost. This act fits very well into the 21st century system of managing family finances, in which both parties make contributions to every project at hand since they both have stable jobs. Findings from a Today poll revealed that almost half of the respondents were in support of the idea that each couple should bear the cost of the engagement ring and this number is expected to rise if they are told by their husband-to-be that they would have to go forgo their precious diamonds (not fun at all, especially since they would have to wave good bye to their dreams of flaunting their beautiful diamond engagement ring!) if costs are not shared.

This entire issue certainly brings up unsettling existential drama: the question then arises- is it really an engagement ring if you contributed to its purchase? The engagement ring is meant to be a gift from the man to a woman to demonstrate his level of commitment. When you display your diamond ring for all to see, you do that with the intention that everyone sees how invested your man is, financially, in acquiring you as his bride-to-be. (Quite funny to note that the man doesn’t need to demonstrate how committed you are to him. The women’s commitment is assumed to be assured and they are so grateful to be counted worthy to be selected for the honourable position of being someone else’s sandwich maker). So, if you paid for the ring yourself, it doesn’t matter if it is just half the price, it defeats the whole purpose. It’s no longer a show of his commitment anymore. Does the engagement ring, which isn’t a down payment on a future commitment even shine as brightly?

All these comes with the realisation that it is high time we ended the tradition of the engagement ring and other wedding rituals that were built on the premise that the bride is meant to be dependent and virginal. The idea that a woman has to get a husband and claim expensive totems of his commitment in order to hold him in place before the wedding is repulsive to both genders. It just does not make sense especially now that women provide for themselves. Let us come up with new traditions that adequately reflect our modern era and let go of sexist, retrograde wedding traditions that just doesn’t cut it anymore.
A new tradition has come up which involves broadcasting your engagement by means of a photo shoot. This presents a far more cost effective way of reflecting the couples’ enjoyable and romantic lives; without the expensive display of an engagement ring. More of this please!

Engagement Rings- Couples Share Everything

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It’s traditional for a man to buy his partner an engagement ring. Taking out that beautiful diamond, offering it to the delighted bride to be … it’s the stuff of Hollywood. But is it still relevant today? Are couples still getting engaged the traditional way, or are some new ways of doing things becoming more popular? After all, couples are now more likely to share responsibility for their home rent or mortgage, their grocery bills, even romantic meals out, so why not engagement rings?

 

engagement rings sydney

share your love

According to some sources, it’s getting increasingly likely that women will share the cost of the ring with their partner – or even consider buying their own ring! That’s one sure fire way to make sure they get a ring they truly love, but what about romance? Does the modern way take the romance out of an engagement?

According to a poll by Today, nearly half of women would be happy to share the cost of an engagement ring. It’s quite a challenge to accepted traditions and women who embrace this hands-on approach (pun totally intended) may well find their friends and family looking at them askance when they delightedly show off the ring they helped to buy. But when you really think about it, it makes sense. If marriage is a partnership and both couples are contributing to the household coffers, why should the responsibility for a major purchase fall to only one partner?

There will be some who decry the idea of course. After all, an engagement ring is a gift, a demonstration of how much a man loves a woman. In times gone by, it was seen as a sign of being willing to invest in their partner and give her something flashy to show who she belonged to. Probably not the best values to espouse in our society today! So where does this leave engagement rings? Are they a delightful sign of romance and commitment, or are they becoming less relevant?

For some couples, there’s no doubt that an engagement ring is a gesture they both really appreciate, a way of showing the world they’re ready to commit. Perhaps in those cases, splitting the cost evens the score and brings the tradition into line with the modern world. But do we really need it? Thankfully, brides are no longer expected to be sweet, compliant and totally dependent on their new man to take care of them. The name of the game is finding a compatible partner to share life with, not grabbing yourself a trophy wife or well to do husband to show off.

So does this work for you ?
Let go of the old traditions and find new and more modern ways to announce that you’re ready to get married? you could still have the romance of asking the question, but in a different way. Certainly todays society is all about focus on equality so why not start building up new traditions that celebrate what each couple has together, instead of trying to mold today’s young lovers into yesterday’s old traditions.

Life Secrets at the Laundromat

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Evolve Love Rings are all about your story.

Everything that Robert creates has a story behind it, a deeper meaning. Sometimes his jewellery tells the story of the Australian seasons and other times it expresses the dynamic story of a relationship, poem or song. While I am not a jewellery desginer I am on the lookout for stories wherever I go, its in my nature and it’s what Robert and I have in common. I make it a personal policy to talk to strangers in buses, parks, restaurants, and grocery stores. Not in that freaky way, but everyone has a story, and usually its more interesting ones than found in glossy magazines. Over the years I’ve discovered that the stories people tell can almost always be tied back to evolutions: endings, beginnings, shifts, and changes.

Take Steve the security guard for example. I met him at the local laundromat last week. He’s a giant man with an unexpectedly gentle spirit and a slight stutter. For the last nine years he’s worked the night shift in some of the roughest suburbs in this city. He tells me this after offering to help me fold my sheets.

“I bet you’ve seen a lot,” I say.

“I have,” he replies, “but I’ve learned to walk into every situation with friendliness and people can pick up on that, which saves me a lot of trouble. I never thought I’d be a security guard, though.”

“What did you think you were going to be when you were younger?” I ask. He pauses and gets a shy grin on his face,“I thought I was going to be a producer.”

“You want to make music, right?”

“Yeah. And maybe I still will. You never know.”

“I think a lot of people end up in places they never would have guessed,” I say.

He looks up at the ceiling thoughtfully, “Yes, that’s true. And it depends on what the man up there has in mind for you. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Steve is right: you never know what turns your life is going to take next. The idea of personal evolution is the central idea behind the new “Evolve Love Ring” collection. The Love rings are designed to evolve as changes occur in your life. Whether it’s something as simple as a shift in mood or something more significant like a move to a new city or the start of a new relationship–you can mix, match, and stack the rings to express your experience. Take a look at the 56420 ways you can show your evolution.

 

About the Author

Clara is the resident wordsmith for Robert Young Sculpture and when she isn’t folding laundry she can often be found waxing philosophical on the artistic processes of jewellery making.

Satellite of Love – Custom Jewellery Made with Meaning

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Last month we made the most significant custom jewellery.  A new customer tracked me down and asked me to make her some jewellery. As I recall, when we sat down, we didn’t start off with an object in mind, it could have been a ring, a bangle, or a pendant.

The customer, let’s call her ‘Mary’ (not her real name), wanted me to make something because ‘I put emotion and feeling into jewellery’. She had done her research and knew ‘I sometimes ask some pretty revealing questions’.

As we sat down I realised this was a very hard conversation for ‘Mary’. A most personal and private journey. Tears were being fought back.

‘Mary’ wanted to make a piece of custom jewellery that reflected her love for her family and the passing of one her children. Mary’s middle child was still born.

As she talked all I kept feeling was the gravity of the event and how the most important thing in her life was her family. Caring for them, holding them, and keeping them safe.

We talked a lot, and it emerged that she had some stones that reflected her children’s birthstones, and from this I kept creating and illustrating the clasping of the stones in the hand. The feeling of holding, nurturing and protecting the family.

What we made was a piece of custom jewellery that could be worn as a necklace or a bracelet. And it signifies keeping her family safe. All their birthstones are safely encapsulated into this object and can be seen once the object is unscrewed. This egg, or plump olive, is made from silver and the three separate parts are perfectly matched. There is a small Ruby at one end and a small Sapphire at the other, the birthstones of both the ‘Mary’ and the father. The object is also embroidered very subtly with the Robert Young Sculpture signature love motif, which was yellow gold infilled.

When making it, the name of “Satellite of Love,” kept coming up as we made it. So the name stuck. And I am honoured to have made such an important Object Of Love for Mary. Satellite of Love is more important than the Crown Jewels.

Love My Way, a sterling silver ring

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You can’t keep a good thing down. – Love My Way, a sterling silver ring.

I heard this fantastic story of a little Afghani girl. Sadly the regime, the Taliban will not allow girls to be educated. This clever little girl found that if she got up on the roof of her house she could just hear the lessons in the school close by.

So for every class she would sit up on the roof, hour after hour, in the sun and rain listening and eagerly trying to learn. When her brother came home from school, indifferent to his school homework chore she would do his homework for him.

This story inspired me to talk about the sterling silver ring I titled some time ago now “Love My Way“.

I Wish You Success – A letter from a friend

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“Hi Robert,

What a wonderful idea. I wish you every success for the day. I would love to have been able to come to the event but as I’m sure you can appreciate I’m a bit far away. We were so lucky last week and are thankful for the Brisbane River dam systems because that may have presented us with a whole different outcome. We have a few family friends who lost homes and possessions and may have to rebuild or even buy somewhere else.The way people have come together over this event is the most wonderful thing and has reminded us all of what’s truly important. Life and time certainly goes by fast when you have children but the enrichment and unconditional love you get from them, makes everything worth while. Even when you do spend your one day off work cleaning out their bedrooms because they can’t actually get into their beds. That was how my day was spent yesterday. I would love to see an updated photo of your beautiful girl. I’m sorry I can’t remember her name but I do know she is now a year old. My last addition, Martha is now 7 months old. Thank you for thinking of me. I hope to hear from you soon.

Take care of yourself and your family. Love Sarah”