Save Money on Your Wedding Rings – Mine Your Own Gems and Gold

When you go shopping for engagement and wedding ring sets you are faced with many dilemmas. First of all if you are interested in buying a diamond engagement ring you need to be mindful about where the diamond came from
and its quality. You also need to think about what type of setting you want, what gems you want and how much money you want to spend. Finally, you have to wrestle with the fact that the wedding rings that you are offered in a jewelry store are the same ones that dozens of other people have. If you want a unique engagement/wedding ring set and if you want to save money on your rings, then consider mining your own gems and gold.

Panning for Gold

Gold is a metal that is pretty easy to acquire for free if you know where to look. If you happen to be vacationing in Montana, California, Alaska or Arizona, then you can find gold flakes and nuggets on the ground and in streams. The key to finding gold is to focus your search on public land that is known for gold strikes. Searching areas where gold has been found before is a good way to find gold for your wedding rings. If you will be panning for gold then you will want to look for streams that have black soil on its banks. This is a tell tale sign that gold is present in the system. Then you will want to search near rock outcrops, as this is where heavy gold nuggets and flakes will get stuck.

Finding Gemstones

If you are interested in adding gemstones to your engagement or wedding ring then you will want to look for mining operations that are open to the public. Generally you can search for gemstones for a fee of between $10 and $75 a day. If you are interested in fire opals for your ring then search north of Reno, Nevada at the Peacock Sapphire Mine, if you are interested in garnets or dark blue sapphires then search in Phillipsburgh or Helena, Montana, and if you are interested in a jackpot of gemstones that include rubies, emeralds, amethyst, garnets and citrine, then look at Gem Mountain in North Carolina. Finally if you are interested in free diamonds, then head to Arkansas.

Putting Your Rings Together

Once you have your raw materials for your engagement and wedding rings you will need to find a jeweler to help you. In most cases gem mines that are open to the public will have an on-site lapidary who can cast ring settings with your gold, that can cut and polish your gemstones and that can set your gemstones in a setting. These jewelers offer very good prices, however, you can expect to pay $200 to $500 for their services, depending on what you are having done.

If you don’t have gold or silver to cast, you can buy a pre-made setting for your gemstone. You also have the option of setting your own gemstones in jewelry grade settings. You can find ring settings at jewelry stores, online and through hobby shops.