Ring of Mara for $1,000.00 - Would you buy it?

Sarannah

Katheriah wrote: »

Sarannah wrote: »

I can imagine players who met on ESO, and got married later on, to buy this kind of stuff.

Anyone that buys me an overpriced, low quality gold ring is getting a divorce right away.

Hehe! but, but, but.... it's romantic! *Gave you an awesome!*

Goregrinder

Linaleah wrote: »

CSose wrote: »

Goregrinder wrote: »

Minyassa wrote: »

Goregrinder wrote: »

Minyassa wrote: »

I worked as a jeweler for many years, both in fabrication and sales. Back in the day when I would have had to carve this wax model by hand and then make a mold and cast it myself, $1000-1500 for a single ring in 20-24k gold (because 10k is budget material and you do not spend hundreds on a custom ring model and then use the cheapest garbage metal to make it) would be reasonable. Nowadays we don't have to carve wax models, we can do the modeling in 3d software and print out the blank to mold. So let's say, since Zenimax has constant access to 3d modelers, the ring production itself cost however many hours of wage that the artist put into it--I've seen people put out something like this in an afternoon. Then printing the model in X sizes, cost of printing plastic--negligible. Then sent to the casting company starting at about $25 for six rings of the same size and the more models you do at once the greater the discount so for an order the size I would hope to get I'd expect the casting cost to be negligible. Let's say this is a 10mm band overall and would weigh around 10 grams, estimating. That's 250 bucks of 10k gold. It could well be that artist salary + gold cost, x3 for standard retail markup might equal $1000, I have no idea how much they pay their artists hourly. But it sure seems an awful lot for a mass produced, 10k ring. If you're really, really struck by the romantic urge, I'd hold out to get someone else to do this for you in *good* gold.

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to totally badmouth 10k gold. I understand a lot of people cannot afford expensive jewelry and I know many people who are perfectly happy with the 10k wedding bands they bought as poor youths. It still looks good and it is more scratch-resistant than higher gold alloys. I just balk at the idea of using 10k gold for customs and selling it for high prices.

But does this count as a custom? This seems more like a limited run set to me. And is your $250 ballpark the cost to make each ring, or what you would sell it for if you made batch of these after you added your markup?

$250 is the cost of 10 grams of 10k gold right now, just the metal itself*, and is about the maximum you could sell the ring for at a jewelry shop if you needed to hock it later. Gold prices never reflect design, unless the design is unique and a shop thinks they can flip it.

*not counting any wholesale bargain a manufacturer might get.

Ah ok so the worth of each of these rings wouldn't ever go below $250, since that's the cost of just the 10k gold required to make each one, if they are 10 grams each. So the price going above that wouldn't be unheard of essentially.

A 10k gold ring with no gems is worth about $25 US. There is not enough gold in this ring to even mention it as having value. The only value this ring has is it's relation to ESO and for ESO fans. It has near zero value for the metal and no gem stones.

no, its not.

even if you are selling it for material cost alone, THAT goes by daily gold price. now, we are estimating how many grams is this ring, but lets be generous and say there is 3 grams of gold in this (for a 7 gram ring since 10k is about 41% gold) 1 gram of gold is currently trading at $60. so at the absolute minimum, we are talking you are selling it to an assay company - its $180. but lets say the ring is smaller and lighter and there is only 2 grams of gold in it. that's $120 for this ring. but lets go REAAAALY low. it doesn't look to be that thin, but hey lets pretend that it is and there is only one gram of gold in this ring. its STILL $60 not $25.

this is NOT a plated ring. its not even gold filled ring. 10k is 41% gold. there IS enough gold in this ring to mention it as having value.

and yes 10k gold is a fairly common gold percentage and have been for a while.

basic gold testing kit - you can get density machines nowadays, but they are pricey and can't go wrong with a classic.

https://www.riogrande.com/product/complete-gold-testing-kit/1115281 notice that it STARTS at 10k

another edit, cause things and stuff. that site you linked? gives you a price for a TOTAL WEIGHT OF A RING and it does NOT take any work or overhead into account - just price of materials. not for a weight of gold in a ring. this ring of mara is a thicker band in part because of its design, its not a delicate solitaire. at the very least, i cannot imagine it weighting less then 3 grams total, but I honestly think its more like 7 grams.

Very concise and detailed information here! Many people forget you're not just paying for raw gold...it's a finished ring. Someone turned it from raw material to jewelry, which is labor + skill + time + material.

aurorable

1k usd? Nope, way to overpriced.

Linaleah

Goregrinder wrote: »

Linaleah wrote: »

CSose wrote: »

Goregrinder wrote: »

Minyassa wrote: »

Goregrinder wrote: »

Minyassa wrote: »

I worked as a jeweler for many years, both in fabrication and sales. Back in the day when I would have had to carve this wax model by hand and then make a mold and cast it myself, $1000-1500 for a single ring in 20-24k gold (because 10k is budget material and you do not spend hundreds on a custom ring model and then use the cheapest garbage metal to make it) would be reasonable. Nowadays we don't have to carve wax models, we can do the modeling in 3d software and print out the blank to mold. So let's say, since Zenimax has constant access to 3d modelers, the ring production itself cost however many hours of wage that the artist put into it--I've seen people put out something like this in an afternoon. Then printing the model in X sizes, cost of printing plastic--negligible. Then sent to the casting company starting at about $25 for six rings of the same size and the more models you do at once the greater the discount so for an order the size I would hope to get I'd expect the casting cost to be negligible. Let's say this is a 10mm band overall and would weigh around 10 grams, estimating. That's 250 bucks of 10k gold. It could well be that artist salary + gold cost, x3 for standard retail markup might equal $1000, I have no idea how much they pay their artists hourly. But it sure seems an awful lot for a mass produced, 10k ring. If you're really, really struck by the romantic urge, I'd hold out to get someone else to do this for you in *good* gold.

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to totally badmouth 10k gold. I understand a lot of people cannot afford expensive jewelry and I know many people who are perfectly happy with the 10k wedding bands they bought as poor youths. It still looks good and it is more scratch-resistant than higher gold alloys. I just balk at the idea of using 10k gold for customs and selling it for high prices.

But does this count as a custom? This seems more like a limited run set to me. And is your $250 ballpark the cost to make each ring, or what you would sell it for if you made batch of these after you added your markup?

$250 is the cost of 10 grams of 10k gold right now, just the metal itself*, and is about the maximum you could sell the ring for at a jewelry shop if you needed to hock it later. Gold prices never reflect design, unless the design is unique and a shop thinks they can flip it.

*not counting any wholesale bargain a manufacturer might get.

Ah ok so the worth of each of these rings wouldn't ever go below $250, since that's the cost of just the 10k gold required to make each one, if they are 10 grams each. So the price going above that wouldn't be unheard of essentially.

A 10k gold ring with no gems is worth about $25 US. There is not enough gold in this ring to even mention it as having value. The only value this ring has is it's relation to ESO and for ESO fans. It has near zero value for the metal and no gem stones.

no, its not.

even if you are selling it for material cost alone, THAT goes by daily gold price. now, we are estimating how many grams is this ring, but lets be generous and say there is 3 grams of gold in this (for a 7 gram ring since 10k is about 41% gold) 1 gram of gold is currently trading at $60. so at the absolute minimum, we are talking you are selling it to an assay company - its $180. but lets say the ring is smaller and lighter and there is only 2 grams of gold in it. that's $120 for this ring. but lets go REAAAALY low. it doesn't look to be that thin, but hey lets pretend that it is and there is only one gram of gold in this ring. its STILL $60 not $25.

this is NOT a plated ring. its not even gold filled ring. 10k is 41% gold. there IS enough gold in this ring to mention it as having value.

and yes 10k gold is a fairly common gold percentage and have been for a while.

basic gold testing kit - you can get density machines nowadays, but they are pricey and can't go wrong with a classic.

https://www.riogrande.com/product/complete-gold-testing-kit/1115281 notice that it STARTS at 10k

another edit, cause things and stuff. that site you linked? gives you a price for a TOTAL WEIGHT OF A RING and it does NOT take any work or overhead into account - just price of materials. not for a weight of gold in a ring. this ring of mara is a thicker band in part because of its design, its not a delicate solitaire. at the very least, i cannot imagine it weighting less then 3 grams total, but I honestly think its more like 7 grams.

Very concise and detailed information here! Many people forget you're not just paying for raw gold...it's a finished ring. Someone turned it from raw material to jewelry, which is labor + skill + time + material.

yep. and plus all the overhead that goes into maintaining a shop. many of the costs are up front and some can be outsourced (casting, though there are still work costs associated with it) but you have rent, electricity, security (cause you have all these expensive materials stored on site) packaging, polishing materials, maintenance of machinery used, I mean... even if this ring was created in cad rather then carved in wax by hand - last I checked professional cad programs are licenses, not a purchase, so its an ongoing cost as well (not to mention training it took to learn how to 3d model in a first place, as well as other skill training and you know.. having a computer to run that program on, eve if you are assuming outsourcing 3d printing, of not - that machinery also costs a LOT of money, one of the little $200 hobby printers is NOT going to cut it for a full time shop. too slow among other things). and there are also just general costs associated with running a business. taxes, general bookkeeping, and so on.

and if it sounds like I'm taking it very personaly? I am. too many people tend to severely undervalue creative professions.

Katheriah

Sarannah wrote: »

Katheriah wrote: »

Sarannah wrote: »

I can imagine players who met on ESO, and got married later on, to buy this kind of stuff.

Anyone that buys me an overpriced, low quality gold ring is getting a divorce right away.

Hehe! but, but, but.... it's romantic! *Gave you an awesome!*

Oh but it is and the ring is cute.

That's why I'm taking the pictures to a befriended goldsmith.

Goregrinder

Linaleah wrote: »

Goregrinder wrote: »

Linaleah wrote: »

CSose wrote: »

Goregrinder wrote: »

Minyassa wrote: »

Goregrinder wrote: »

Minyassa wrote: »

I worked as a jeweler for many years, both in fabrication and sales. Back in the day when I would have had to carve this wax model by hand and then make a mold and cast it myself, $1000-1500 for a single ring in 20-24k gold (because 10k is budget material and you do not spend hundreds on a custom ring model and then use the cheapest garbage metal to make it) would be reasonable. Nowadays we don't have to carve wax models, we can do the modeling in 3d software and print out the blank to mold. So let's say, since Zenimax has constant access to 3d modelers, the ring production itself cost however many hours of wage that the artist put into it--I've seen people put out something like this in an afternoon. Then printing the model in X sizes, cost of printing plastic--negligible. Then sent to the casting company starting at about $25 for six rings of the same size and the more models you do at once the greater the discount so for an order the size I would hope to get I'd expect the casting cost to be negligible. Let's say this is a 10mm band overall and would weigh around 10 grams, estimating. That's 250 bucks of 10k gold. It could well be that artist salary + gold cost, x3 for standard retail markup might equal $1000, I have no idea how much they pay their artists hourly. But it sure seems an awful lot for a mass produced, 10k ring. If you're really, really struck by the romantic urge, I'd hold out to get someone else to do this for you in *good* gold.

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to totally badmouth 10k gold. I understand a lot of people cannot afford expensive jewelry and I know many people who are perfectly happy with the 10k wedding bands they bought as poor youths. It still looks good and it is more scratch-resistant than higher gold alloys. I just balk at the idea of using 10k gold for customs and selling it for high prices.

But does this count as a custom? This seems more like a limited run set to me. And is your $250 ballpark the cost to make each ring, or what you would sell it for if you made batch of these after you added your markup?

$250 is the cost of 10 grams of 10k gold right now, just the metal itself*, and is about the maximum you could sell the ring for at a jewelry shop if you needed to hock it later. Gold prices never reflect design, unless the design is unique and a shop thinks they can flip it.

*not counting any wholesale bargain a manufacturer might get.

Ah ok so the worth of each of these rings wouldn't ever go below $250, since that's the cost of just the 10k gold required to make each one, if they are 10 grams each. So the price going above that wouldn't be unheard of essentially.

A 10k gold ring with no gems is worth about $25 US. There is not enough gold in this ring to even mention it as having value. The only value this ring has is it's relation to ESO and for ESO fans. It has near zero value for the metal and no gem stones.

no, its not.

even if you are selling it for material cost alone, THAT goes by daily gold price. now, we are estimating how many grams is this ring, but lets be generous and say there is 3 grams of gold in this (for a 7 gram ring since 10k is about 41% gold) 1 gram of gold is currently trading at $60. so at the absolute minimum, we are talking you are selling it to an assay company - its $180. but lets say the ring is smaller and lighter and there is only 2 grams of gold in it. that's $120 for this ring. but lets go REAAAALY low. it doesn't look to be that thin, but hey lets pretend that it is and there is only one gram of gold in this ring. its STILL $60 not $25.

this is NOT a plated ring. its not even gold filled ring. 10k is 41% gold. there IS enough gold in this ring to mention it as having value.

and yes 10k gold is a fairly common gold percentage and have been for a while.

basic gold testing kit - you can get density machines nowadays, but they are pricey and can't go wrong with a classic.

https://www.riogrande.com/product/complete-gold-testing-kit/1115281 notice that it STARTS at 10k

another edit, cause things and stuff. that site you linked? gives you a price for a TOTAL WEIGHT OF A RING and it does NOT take any work or overhead into account - just price of materials. not for a weight of gold in a ring. this ring of mara is a thicker band in part because of its design, its not a delicate solitaire. at the very least, i cannot imagine it weighting less then 3 grams total, but I honestly think its more like 7 grams.

Very concise and detailed information here! Many people forget you're not just paying for raw gold...it's a finished ring. Someone turned it from raw material to jewelry, which is labor + skill + time + material.

yep. and plus all the overhead that goes into maintaining a shop. many of the costs are up front and some can be outsourced (casting, though there are still work costs associated with it) but you have rent, electricity, security (cause you have all these expensive materials stored on site) packaging, polishing materials, maintenance of machinery used, I mean... even if this ring was created in cad rather then carved in wax by hand - last I checked professional cad programs are licenses, not a purchase, so its an ongoing cost as well (not to mention training it took to learn how to 3d model in a first place, as well as other skill training and you know.. having a computer to run that program on, eve if you are assuming outsourcing 3d printing, of not - that machinery also costs a LOT of money, one of the little $200 hobby printers is NOT going to cut it for a full time shop. too slow among other things). and there are also just general costs associated with running a business. taxes, general bookkeeping, and so on.

and if it sounds like I'm taking it very personaly? I am. too many people tend to severely undervalue creative professions.

Very true! it's very similar to when people asks an artist to draw them for free....as if that doesn't take time or skill or something you know? haha. But the main thing here is that these rings are ready to go, the labor has been done, design and artistry is complete, plus the required licensing to make said merch has already been taken care of because Bethesda can decide to craft and sell any kind of merch based on their own IP's.

I imagine manufacturing and selling merch from an IP I don't own would require me to get proper licensing to do so from the owner of the IP.

Syldras

Let's be honest: The thing you're paying for here is the brand/license. The material value has been posted here often enough, the craft itself - well, even if the ring is limited, it's still a serial production, not a unicum where they would have a design an extra mold for every single ring (or even do it completely by hand). The price really isn't justified.

Goregrinder wrote: »

Still, $1,000 for a single ring isn't really expensive. A basic 10k yellow gold band is like in the $200 range, as mentioned above. That leaves the other $800 price split between:
- The laser engraving (Labor, wear and tear on shop equipment)

When we, my ex and I, had our "engagement" rings (well, not legally being able to marry back then, but you get the idea) engraved, we paid about 10 or 12 Euros for each engraving (can't remember, it was either 20 or 25 for both together, which would be 25-30 US-$), and it wasn't even a (cheaper) laser engraving, but we got our rings hand engraved. Flawlessly. Okay, prices my vary from country to country, but it's not something extremely complicated and expensive.

Goregrinder wrote: »

- Embossing the band with the nord knotwork design (Labor, skill required to perform labor)

It totally looks like a cast to me, so the only thing that's "handmade" is the touching up and polishing.

Goregrinder wrote: »

- Rarity of Elder Scrolls design. How many jewelry shops could I walk into right now and ask for the Ring of Mara special, and they sell me a similar RoM designed ring? Probably not many.

You could request a completely custom handmade one from any jeweller and it would cost less than 1000. That's the whole point: If a complete custom ring where the jeweller has to start with nothing more than a sketch of how the ring should look like in the end costs less than this serial production... then something's wrong to me.

Sarannah wrote: »

Katheriah wrote: »

Sarannah wrote: »

I can imagine players who met on ESO, and got married later on, to buy this kind of stuff.

Anyone that buys me an overpriced, low quality gold ring is getting a divorce right away.

Hehe! but, but, but.... it's romantic! *Gave you an awesome!*

Romantic? It would be romantic if the gifter mined the gold for the ring themself
(Which is why I'll never marry. Searching for gems - sure, why not? But standing in a stinking river for weeks to pan out barely visible gold nuggets?! Nah, thank you. I'll pass.)

Raideen

I have done some lost wax casting ring making in my time. 1000 bucks for the 10k gold Ring of Mara is quite expensive, I would error it towards "complete rip off". It's cute, fun, but not an investment, not even in the slightest.

Without getting into specifics and semantic arguments, I thought I would just find an "ornate" ring on etsy that is 10k gold. Does not take long to see that the offerings for $1000.00 are pretty much non existent.

The ring in the picture below (I took this snapshot about 1 min ago) represents the more "expensive end" of what you will find.




No, no. This is a HARD PASS for me.


I am sure someone will give a rebuttal about the ring I posted not comparing to the Ring of Mara due to branding etc. To that I say, then you can't compare the Ring of Mara to the Tolkien "One Ring". That is like comparing a marble to the sun. Tolkien set the stage for an entire universe. ESO would not exist without Tolkien.