Silversmith Darren Rice makes Celtic-inspired jewellery at his workshop in rural Perthshire. Nestled in the hills near Balquhidder, Darren’s workshop at Immeroin is a beautiful old stone building with space for two people at a time to make their own silver rings in a half-day workshop.

I was fortunate enough to be the only person at my ring-making workshop so I had Darren’s undivided attention. When I arrived we discussed whether I had a style in mind (I didn’t) and he showed me a comprehensive range of silver strips from which to choose the material for my ring. He suggested different designs I could try and measured an existing ring to make sure that my finished product would be the right size.

I choose to attempt a double-layered ring. To start, Darren showed me how to cut strips of the right length from two different widths of silver. We then moved to decorating the narrower strip and fixing it to the wider band before bending the resulting silver ‘sandwich’ it into a ring shape. Polishing the seam was a challenge and I didn’t quite manage the invisible join of a professional silversmith but under Darren’s guidance I achieved a respectable finish. Another stage in the process was to put the ring in a polishing bath from which it emerged shiny and sparkling, and looking far more professional than I had expected.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, learning a new skill and finding out more about the inspirations behind Darren’s own jewellery. Darren was an informative and encouraging teacher and it was fascinating to hear about his work. You can find out more about his workshops on his website: https://www.darrenrice.co.uk/product/silver-ring-making-workshop/. Darren also runs ‘Make your own wedding rings’ workshops for engaged couples.