Creating bespoke wedding rings for generations – with MJ Farrell 29

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Roscommon People Friday 28 January 2012
Wedding Supplement January 2012
Creating bespoke wedding rings
for generations – with MJ Farrell
When it comes to wedding rings,
whether you’re converting your
grandmother’s ring into your very own
wedding ring, or choosing a bespoke
style to match a one-of-a-kind engagement ring, there are few people as well
placed to help you as you make your
decision as jeweller Aidan Farrell of
MJ Farrell, Church Street, Roscommon.
The company has been supplying
wedding rings for over 100 years and
Aidan now has over 20 years experience in the business. When asked
about the trends Aidan has noticed
in recent years, he immediately mentions the diamond-set wedding ring,
a feature of many weddings in recent
years. However, wedding rings are
also something very traditional and
designed to be worn for life, so when
choosing a ring, bear in mind that you
want something which will wear well
and which will not date.
“With more women working, they
want something practical that they can
wear to work. The trend of wearing engagement rings all the time is waning
and many people get a diamond in the
wedding ring and wear it on its own.”
A very big part of the business at MJ
Farrell is the creation of bespoke wedding rings.
“People get engaged all over the
world and they come back with an
unusual and exotic engagement ring
and they have to get a fitted wedding
band which will complement the engagement ring,” said Aidan.
“We specialise in hand-making bespoke designs to match the engagement ring in gold or platinum.”
The price rise of metals such as gold
on the commodity market means that
people are looking for value for money now more than ever and that’s just
what Aidan aims to provide at MJ Farrell.
A wedding ring is, by definition, an
expensive item, so you want to get
it right. People having a special ring
made worry ‘what if I don’t like it?’
or ‘what will it look like? In MJ Farrell, wax models of the rings are made,
so you can fit it on and look at what
the bespoke handmade version will
look like. All this takes time, so people
need to be thinking about their wedding rings about three months before
the wedding.
Budgeting is another important part
of buying a wedding ring.
“You also need a budget. If you have
Church Street, Roscommon
www.mjfarrell.com
a budget, it’s possible to have rings in
that range. It doesn’t have to cost the
earth. The budget is a very important
part of that and so is finding a jeweller
who can deliver on that budget,” stated
Aidan.
In terms of budget, Aidan has noticed
the increased popularity of palladium
in recent years in the creation of wedding rings. “Palladium is a precious
white metal that is part of the platinum
group metal family,” explained Aidan.
“It was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. Palladium’s
rarity gives it an aspect of luxury and
purity. Palladium is similar in price
per gram to 14ct white gold, however
because it is much lighter in weight,
the unit cost of a Palladium ring
will be cheaper. Palladium is strong
and durable, making it ideal to hold
the most precious gemstones. It can
be worked on and sized as with any
other precious metal. Unlike white
gold, Palladium does not need to be
rhodium coated and it is 40% lighter
than platinum. Palladium is also easy
to maintain as it is naturally white
from the earth so it will never change
in colour or tarnish.”
With a history of one hundred years
of wedding rings in the family, MJ
Farrell have now provided generations
of Roscommon men and women with
their wedding rings.
“We recently sold a wedding ring to a
woman and she was the fourth female
generation of her family to have bought
her wedding ring in MJ Farrell.
“It’s part of the tradition for many
Roscommon families. We have people
coming from Sligo and Dublin because
their mother got their ring here.”
Wedding rings are often associated with the bride-to-be, but men
also have a large range of options
to choose from. The designs vary in
terms of colour and diamond set, as
well as cut, but in general Irish men
are more conservative than their European counterparts and sales of diamond set wedding rings would not be
as big in Ireland as in Europe. Most
wedding rings are engraved with the
name of the spouse and the date of the
wedding.
Aidan reflects, “It is very useful for
fellows to have the date of their anniversary on the inside of the ring, because then there is some chance that
they might remember the date!”
Contact Aidan on (090) 66 26233 or
email [email protected]
For over 100 years
MJ Farrell has been
supplying top
quality wedding
and engagement
rings to couples in
Roscommon and
environs. Here,
Aidan Farrell of MJ
Farrell, Church Street,
Roscommon, offers
advice on getting
the best rings to suit
your personal style
and requirements