Slade Fine Jewellery Archives - The Natural Wedding Company

Blog: Slade Fine Jewellery

Charlie

Men’s ethical engagement rings: a guide for a leap year proposal or just doing it your way

Charlie

Are you considering a proposal for your male partner this year? Are you looking for men’s ethical engagement rings?

Well it’s a leap year and so the tradition goes this is the year that women can propose. My opinion is that it doesn’t need to be a leap year to propose to your partner, whether male or female. What has been interesting though is seeing options for men’s ethical engagement rings popping up on my Instagram feed.

I thought I’d invite the ethical wedding jewellers that I work with to share what they have in the way of men’s ethical engagement rings. Some of them have also shared their thoughts and tips if you are selecting an engagement ring for a man, or are perhaps looking for a more neutral and less ‘feminine’ engagement ring design.

My top tips for men’s ethical engagement rings

Firstly, I don’t think you should be restricted by a leap year for women to propose to men. It should be something women feel free to do at any time.

Secondly, for some people engagement rings may have negative connotations of a woman being passed from ownership of one man (her father) to another (her husband). So take a moment – do you even want engagement rings? What ways are there to get ‘engaged’ without exchanging or gifting a ring if that doesn’t feel right for you?

But if you do…

Don’t be restricted by what you think an engagement ring should be!
If your partner prefers a plain band or a real statement piece, why not just have the one ring, you don’t need to have an “engagement ring” and a wedding ring. (I only had one ring – the one my husband Nick proposed with – for our wedding exchange of rings. I do now have a wedding band, but this was gifted at a later stage in our relationship, and a number of years after being married.)
That said, let’s remember the environmental impact of yet more “things”. Just because you are buying ethical rings it doesn’t need to be an excuse to buy more. If one ring suits you, great choice.
But if it is something you feel called to, then there are all kinds of ways to do this using ethically sourced precious metals and gems. So get inspired by some of our ethical wedding jewellers…

This blog feature was inspired by an Instagram post by TNWC Recommended Supplier Jacqueline & Edward.

Bespoke men's engagement ring with rock fissure

Natural men's engagement ring with black diamonds

Charlie

Exclusive wedding offers to celebrate The Natural Wedding Company’s 10th Birthday

Charlie

I truly can’t believe this time has come – March 2017, the month that I get to celebrate The Natural Wedding Company’s 10th Birthday with you all. And what a way I get to celebrate, with a month jam-packed with exclusive wedding offers from our fabulous suppliers just for you.

It doesn’t feel that long ago that I was just dreaming up the idea for the directory. I had little idea then that it would turn into a business that would become my ‘full time’ job. Just five years ago I was celebrating with a lovely group of girls in a spring party at my house. I’m even still really good friends with three of those girls – how amazing is that.

Here I am another five years on, and I’m delighted to share another month full of offers and goodies for you all.

Exclusive wedding offers

We’ve put together all these exclusive offers in this one handy blog post. I suggest you grab a cup of something warm and set aside some time to digest the wonderful offers we have. There are offers covering all areas of your wedding, from wedding photography to wedding venues, wedding flowers to wedding rings. And more!

You’ll also find all these offers on our main Offers webpage, just look out for the ‘special offer’ badge marking them out. These offers are time-limited and only available to claim during March 2017.

Win your wedding photography

For your diary – tomorrow morning we’ll be launching a very special birthday competition to win your wedding photography. This is such a wonderful offer coming from fabulous photography duo Bohemian Weddings. Full details will be on the blog tomorrow, and again, the end of March will be the closing date for entries.

Giveaway to win a box of personalised biscuits

If you fancy winning a scrumptious box of personalised biscuits for a friend or loved one, keep an eye out on our Instagram account. We’ll be hosting a giveaway with our friend The Kitsch Hen to win a box of 12 biscuits for someone you love.

Onto the offers…

Charlie

16 beautiful ethical engagement rings for a Christmas or New Year’s Eve proposal

Charlie

With Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve less than two months away what better time for a round-up of our favourite 16 ethical engagement rings. With those two days the most popular days in the whole year to get engaged, I imagine there are a lot of (slightly anxious) men and women out there with rings on their mind.

Why choose an ethical engagement ring?

There are all kinds of ways to propose these days, but it has never been easier to choose an ethical engagement ring. What do we mean by ‘ethical’? We are talking about engagement rings made from fair trade gold and silver, recycled gold and silver, and ethically sourced diamonds and other precious gems. In addition to this, many of our recommended wedding ring suppliers are offering more unusual creations using sea glass, lab grown eco diamonds, and sustainable wood (more on those below).

Whatever you choose, do not underestimate the impact made by your choice to propose with an ethical engagement ring. Now onto our top 16 of the most beautiful and unique ethical engagement rings, all available to buy from our recommended suppliers collections.

Modern Ethical Engagement Rings

The teardrop shape of this ethical solitaire diamond engagement ring gives it an interesting twist that will set you apart from the usual diamond engagement ring. Designed by Glasswing Jewellery on a dainty recycled gold band, this is one of my favourites. Buy it here.

Slade Fine Jewellery always come out with some beautiful designs, part modern but with a liberal sprinkling of Tolkein-esque elvish magic. We were particularly captured by this grey rosecut diamond set against that earthy yellow gold, which in this case is recycled eco gold. Buy it here.

The warmth from the rose gold and the ‘rubover’ setting of this solitaire ethical engagement ring from long-time fair trade gold and silver champions CRED Jewellery, create a modern but romantic feeling ring. Buy it here.

With this design, April Doubleday has combined sleek modern lines and a ‘rub over’ setting for ethical diamond ring with the slightly hammered fair trade gold band for a natural feel. Buy it here.

Charlie

Run away to a wildflower meadow in Wales for an intimate elopment wedding at Nantwen

Charlie

At several points in my own wedding planning, I was stressed out and ready to scrap all our plans to elope for a simple wedding ceremony, just the two of us, somewhere beautiful. We didn’t for various reasons, but the idea of eloping has always appealed to me. Two of our businesses – who happen to be run by a husband and wife team – have put together a tempting package for those couples who want a truly down-to-earth and intimate wedding.

Daniel and Jemma, along with their little girl, run Nantwen, an idyllic rustic wedding venue and honeymoon cottage in rural Pembrokeshire. In addition to the gorgeous barn and cosy cottage, Jemma also runs Slade Fine Jewellery handcrafting eco-chic engagement and wedding rings. For those couples wanting an intimate wedding, they saw that they could combine their businesses to offer a runaway wedding package that includes the ceremony, a few nights stay in their romantic cottage, and bespoke rings made in eco gold or silver.

“We think this package would suit a couple who want something really special, who are brave enough to choose a secret venue, with wedding rings there waiting for them.” How romantic!

Charlie

Our guide to some of the best eco-chic and ethical engagement and wedding rings

Charlie

Best eco-chic and ethical engagement and wedding rings

For many the Christmas and New Year’s period will have been a particularly exciting one, having got engaged, and so whilst many of you may already have an engagement ring, we thought it a good moment to introduce the jewellery businesses we work with, all who have a strong ethical and eco-friendly commitment.

The above ring, from April Doubleday, has particular caught my eye, with its chic white enamel band, set with glittering Cubic Zironias. It is elegant and modern, but still retains that ‘hewn from the earth’ natural feel – I could almost believe it came from an oyster shell in a mermaid kingdom…

My main conclusion is that I don’t quite know how you’ll ever choose just one! You can find all our wedding ring suppliers in the Rings section of our directory.