05/01/2026
HOT TAKE!! // do you ever watch the videos of people who dig in the Thames river and pull up beautiful treasures that have been discarded or lost in the river? I love a good treasure hunt and these videos get me every time. I especially love that many of the things that are found in the river are not what most would call āpreciousā. Theyāre often made from glass, brass, pewter sterling silver, and yes, sometimes gold. While it is a precious treasure of the past, it is not (often) going to make you rich in anything other than the joy it brings when itās found.
Brass is an heirloom metal! If you found this on the bottom of the river or in the ocean, you could pull it out polish it up and it would look exactly the same as it does today. Just. Like. Gold.
A friend brought me her favorite ring, which was a cheap old button with a plastic gemstone set in the top that was fashioned into a ring with a bit of gold fill wire. While it wasnāt expensive, it made her really happy and she loved wearing it! The wire had broke and she wanted me to repair it. Instead of redoing the wire and leaving her with the cheap version of a ring I asked if we could make a mold and create the ring out of brass. Instead, she wholeheartedly agreed, and I am pretty obsessed with how this ring turned out in the end!
We molded the original button, and then added a ring shank, and then set the plastic gemstone upside down, revealing the beautiful facets. This piece is truly an incredibly fun and wonderful gift that she can definitely pass down.
