I’m so pleased to share the story of how Laura repurposed a ring that belonged to her dad.
Laura’s story
My dad had always worked away and travelled a lot. On one of his trips he came back with a ring for himself. It was quite a chunky gold ring with a diamond in the centre. I remember my brother and I thinking it wasn't particularly nice and joking about it, but he liked it. So much so that once, when he lost the ring, he bought himself a replacement of exactly the same design. He was still working away and travelling when he was diagnosed with cancer. He managed his illness for a few years but he sadly passed away in 2009.
After he passed away we went through all of dad’s things, but weren’t sure what to do with his precious ring. In the end we decided to leave it in a box and that was that. A few years later I then left the UK to live abroad, returning once a year to visit.
I'd been following Jo for a few years when I started noticing her repurposing projects. I thought of dad’s ring and how repurposing it might be the perfect way to celebrate him. My brother agreed, so I contacted Jo.
The first steps
I'd always loved Jo's chunky rings, definitely more my style than delicate pieces. I wasn't sure what would be possible with dad’s ring, so during our first meeting (on Zoom) Jo and I talked through options, we worked out that it could be used in one chunky ring or a couple of stacking bands. Jo showed me lots of her designs which helped focus my ideas.
Dad’s ring was then couriered to Jo's office where they tested the gold and the stone. Once this was done we had more of a chat about what was possible. 
Choosing a design
I was really drawn to the Tapered Hex ring and Jo suggested ways we could set the stone to make it appear less circular and more angular which was something I wanted. Once we had a way forward, we exchanged a number of emails with snapshots and videos of 3D models. I'm an architect so I was used to communicating in this way, it worked really well and I enjoyed the process.
Parquet detail
There were a couple of little details which were tested during this process and I asked Jo after the first round of modelling if it was possible to add the parquet detail to the back of the ring. My Dad was a very hands-on, practical guy, he always had a project going on at home when he was back from work for a few weeks at a time. I vividly remember him with graph paper out sketching plans for our garden or my grandparents garden, and this little parquet detail was a tribute to that.
It was tricky to transition the hexagon into the parquet but Jo tried a few options and I was really pleased with the outcome.
Working with Jo
Working with Jo was incredibly easy. We didn't meet face-to-face until I collected the ring which could have been daunting but it wasn't. She was very calm and easy to talk to, it felt like a collaborative process.
The finished ring
I collected the ring last summer during our annual trip to the UK. I was a little nervous before seeing it, but a treat to go and meet Jo and see where it all happens. It was a special moment opening the box to get a first glimpse, it's amazing how it's been transformed. I wear it every day. It catches the light beautifully and it has so many beautiful little details. It's such a special piece and I'm so happy it's not sat in a box and it's out in the world with me. It's now a real 'heirloom' with so much family history behind it that I can pass on to my daughters one day.
We recently got married, in a very small civil service, where we were living in Malaysia. It was really special to have dad’s ring with me.
