Todd and Paula’s Son is Getting Married – with a TOTALLY UNIQUE custom wedding band!
Hi all, Todd here. So, it's time to brag on our amazing jewelers who can just about do anything and this personal story proves it. Today, I want to share with you how special and meaningful jewelry and personal treasures that are passed down over generations can be.
My son, Connor, is getting married June 6th to a VERY special girl, Brianna. They are such a charismatic young couple that words cannot even express how proud I am of them. Connor loves family history and has always been intrigued with our heritage and family stories. When it came time to choose a wedding band, it was not surprising that he wanted a ring that represented both his past and future.
When Connor graduated high school, he was gifted a very special family shotgun that is over 100 years old. Clint Hendricks Chaudoin, Connor’s great great grandfather used it for hunting and protection on the family farm north of town.
A shot gun not worth a lot of money but rich with awesome nostalgia was the base for Connor’s idea for a wedding ring. But that was all it was, just an idea. Then we had another crazy thought…is it possible to cut the end of a shotgun barrel off and make a ring?
This is where Justin took Connor’s idea and began to do what he does best: “create”.
After about a week, Justin had several plans of action and began the process.
After cutting off a piece of the barrel, he began the work to change it from its rustic industrial looking barrel to something that resembled jewelry.
It’s just a sawed-off barrel at this point.
Then, Justin cut the groove in the barrel so that he could meticulously inlay platinum
Now the fun part…hand engraving is a lost art that few artisans attempt to master. We’re proud that Justin is one of them!
Justin used the engraving design from a Browning Light 12 shotgun that Connor was gifted from his grandfather, Al Mutzig. Al had received the gun as a Christmas gift from his wife Phyllis. She bought the gun with her first paycheck after graduating at NSU—shout out to all our friends over at NSU!
Ultimately, Justin designed the most amazing representation of love and FAMILY that even I could not have imagined. We are lucky to have such amazing artisans that work at Meigs and would love to help you create a treasure that your family will cherish for generations.