James Binnion Metal Arts, LLC. Wedding, engagement and commitment rings created by a unique process of laminating colored golds, silver and platinum to create one-of a kind patterns on each ring. This process is called mokume gane.
Mokume translates from Japanese as "wood eye" which refers to the burl type of wood grain and gane means " metal". The technique was originally created to make parts of the handle for the samurai's sword. The beautiful patterns in these pieces would reflect similar patterns developed in the forging of the sword blade. My mokume gane wedding, engagement and commitment rings as well as my jewelry and other objects are all made using this rare and difficult Japanese metal lamination process. After extensive research on this ancient technique, I have developed my own modern method for making mokume gane using currently available equipment and materials. In my work I fuse sheets of platinum, gold, and silver alloys together. I then forge and carve the stack to create the patterns in the metal. I am one of the few jewelry artists in the world who works in this demanding technique. The majority of my work is in wedding, engagement and commitment rings. However I am happy to work with you to design other jewelry. On the following pages you will see many examples of mokume rings. Each ring has its own unique pattern. All of my mokume engagement and wedding bands are made to order to fit your individual needs.
