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

Odovacar · January 2021

Lephrel wrote: »

Odovacar wrote: »

Not for me and very over priced, imo. However, with the amount of money some spend in crowns it wouldn't surprise me if they've sold more than a few of these.

Pretty sure the ones spending thousands on radiant apex mounts, don't have anyone to whom they could give the ring.
Only a joke, I'm sure that's not true for everyone.

you never know...there's someone out there for everyone. Lots of ESO irl relationships. I hear what you're saying though

Starlock · January 2021

It would have been better to buy this ring than spend $1000 on this cash grab of a game. At least the ring is a physical object that I could more than easily resell (and probably at a profit) after a while.

TheImperfect · January 2021

I wouldn't but I can be sure others would like it and want it. I have to add that I do think it looks nice.

emilyhyoyeon · January 2021

This is exactly the kind of TES merch that I like and want to see more of--something you would actually find in the world, not a T-shirt with a logo for example. And I have an interest in jewelry in particular to boot.

I probably would buy it if I had the expendable income. A blue gemstone in the middle would make it perfect

Scardan · January 2021

LalMirchi wrote: »

This was linked in my newsfeed https://gear.bethesda.net/products/ritual-of-mara-gold-ring

"The Elder Scrolls Ritual of Mara 10K Gold Ring is for all who believe in the Divine of Love. It carries a warm and soft yellow tone often used in historical old-world jewelry. This lighter color most accurately matches the original Elder Scrolls Online concept art found in-game."

I'm just wondering who would buy this for $1,000.00. There is merchandise from older games that do fetch eye-watering prices in todays market. Maybe this could be a good investment for the future given the popularity of the Elder Scrolls.

I would, if the gold is of highest probe. Just because it is gold ring and cost much. Gold is imho good investment.

Katheriah · January 2021

It's super cute, but extremely overpriced.

Saved the pics, sending it to a friend which happens to be goldsmith.

Syldras · January 2021

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

This is exactly the kind of TES merch that I like and want to see more of--something you would actually find in the world

I don't mind that at all, but that ring is just overpriced for its material and craftmanship.

Starlock wrote: »

At least the ring is a physical object that I could more than easily resell (and probably at a profit) after a while.

Sorry, but I doubt it.

emilyhyoyeon · January 2021

Syldras wrote: »

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

This is exactly the kind of TES merch that I like and want to see more of--something you would actually find in the world

I don't mind that at all, but that ring is just overpriced for its material and craftmanship.

yeah I can agree with that. It looks kind of soulless

Nord_Raseri · January 2021

The value in gold in that ring is probably somewhere between $125 and $200(that's assuming the ring's 5-8 grams, it doesn't say). So they value the craftsmanship and brand name at $800+ .

Ohtimbar · January 2021

Absolutely not. It seems especially tacky under the current circumstances, not that I'm surprised.

Goregrinder · January 2021

If I was going to get married again before Feb 21, 2021 sure why not? $1k is cheaper than any engagement ring/wedding band I would have bought anyways, plus you're getting two bands in this package.

Now whether I would actually wear this band is an entirely other question.

Nord_Raseri · January 2021

Goregrinder wrote: »

plus you're getting two bands in this package.

Not package. Single ring.

josiahva · January 2021

Danikat wrote: »

It's expensive for game merchandise, but I think you have to bear in mind this is an actual 10 karat gold ring, even if it was just a plain band it would cost at least a couple of hundred dollars and any kind of pattern is going to make it more expensive.

Add on the fact that they're playing up the romance aspect of it being ring of Mara and selling it in the run up to Valentine's Day, which means you can expect an arbitrary mark-up just for that. (If you don't believe me try searching for 'gold ring' vs. 'gold wedding ring', on average the second will get you higher prices for identical items.)

So I think it's expensive for game merchandise but for a gold ring the price doesn't surprise me. I wouldn't buy it myself, but I'm not a fan of gold jewellery (even my wedding ring is palladium and silver) or Mara. If they had a silver necklace with a symbol of Kynareth I might buy it, and then paying the kind of price I'd expect for a similarly design silver necklace which isn't game merchandise might actually be a good sign because it could imply it's well made, although I'd want to make sure that was the case first and it wasn't just a merchandise markup.

I think the price of a plane ticket might exceed the $1000 the OP is talking about here, but you are right, 10 karat isnt enough to make it any type of worthy "investment"

Linaleah · January 2021

current cost of gold per troy ounce (31 grams ) is $1,841.00

lets say that from the general estimation of the design size, this ring is.... about 7 grams, so that makes about 3 grams of gold per ring. aka there is about $180 worth of gold in this ring. obviously the price is also determined by the amount of other metals so lets make it about $20o for the total cost of materials and even more importantly - work that went into the making of that ring.

however, even taking all of that into account, I cannot see myself paying more then $600 at the very most for that ring and that's accounting for it being a licensed hand crafted item. partly handcrafted, it looks like its cast to me, rather then each individual ring being made by hand each and every time.

but... that's just me.

it IS quite lovely. and to be fair, when I was calculating the price i would pay, i did NOT take into account the fact that jeweler is not getting full sale price of the ring back, but more then likely about half of the sale price of the ring, with Bethesda taking the other half. its kinda how markups work - in which case, jeweler is technically NOT overcharging for it. but it still feels like a bit much for me. but... I tend to think that most licensed goodies are overpriced, so... /shrug

P.S. this is NOT the kind of thing you buy for investment. sigh. you buy things like that for sentimental value. same with art. at least in my opinion.

Goregrinder · January 2021

Nord_Raseri wrote: »

Goregrinder wrote: »

plus you're getting two bands in this package.

Not package. Single ring.

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)
- Embossing the band with the nord knotwork design (Labor, skill required to perform labor)
- Polishing the band (Labor, skill required to polish jewelry)
- 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.
- Brand valuation. (Same reason why Air Jordans cost more than Air Walks).

Having watched many videos of jewelers turning raw material into a finished ring or band, it's pretty clear that creating rings requires a specific set of skills, which in itself is also worth something. So that extra $800 markup does not seem far fetched to me at all.

Belegnole · January 2021

What a ripoff. That ring is worth closer to $200.00 and that's from a goldsmith.

CSose · January 2021

It's 10 karat gold. I've never even heard of anyone advertising gold content under 14k.

...talk about your last ditch marketing to make a buck right before cashing out.

Eirinin · January 2021

Eh. Not my style and I really don't wear much yellow gold, I greatly prefer platinum and white gold.

Araneae6537 · January 2021

No, I never liked that edition to the games, honestly, just seems so pointless and silly. The implied romance option with Ahnassi in Morrowind was much more fun then some random NPC who will hook up with my character for little reason. I have zero interest in the ESO version either for multiple reasons.

As for the physical ring, not my style even if it were within my budget. I would prefer one of the Elven rings of power from LotR and I prefer platinum to gold.

amapola76 · January 2021

Absolutely not.

I could imagine spending $1,000 on a ring. I mean, it's not in my budget right now, but if it were, it's not totally unreasonable. But that ring? No. For $1,000, I'd be looking for better quality, better design, and probably some gemstones.

I gave serious consideration to buying an amulet of Dibella that I saw somewhere... maybe on Etsy rather than official merchandise?... that looked way better than this and was maybe $200 or so? That's definitely the high end for what I'd pay for something like this.

amapola76 · January 2021

amapola76 wrote: »

Absolutely not.

I could imagine spending $1,000 on a ring. I mean, it's not in my budget right now, but if it were, it's not totally unreasonable. But that ring? No. For $1,000, I'd be looking for better quality, better design, and probably some gemstones.

I gave serious consideration to buying an amulet of Dibella that I saw somewhere... maybe on Etsy rather than official merchandise?... that looked way better than this and was maybe $200 or so? That's definitely the high end for what I'd pay for something like this.

The little bit of good jewelry that I do have comes from a company that sells items with ethically sourced, environmentally responsible gemstones. I just checked to confirm, and I could still get an engagement ring from them with a diamond (or emerald, ruby, sapphire) and higher quality gold or silver, with a custom band and custom inscription (if you wanted to make your own ring of Mara) for under $1k. You could recreate the ring above (but with 18k gold) for like $300-400.

Minyassa · January 2021

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.

vibeborn · January 2021

Probably not, though it looks nice

Goregrinder · January 2021

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?

Minyassa · January 2021

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.

It might be presented as a limited run and that is the only thing that makes it even potentially reasonable--but with 3d modeling and printing as it is now, limited runs are no longer a big deal as a company can simply dig out the model file years later and do it all over again even more cheaply than the first time since the design work is already done, so limited is now a mostly illusionary trait so far as value goes.

Goregrinder · January 2021

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.

Merlin13KAGL · January 2021

It's <$200 worth of gold @ 14k and size 13.
I don't see $800 worth of craftsmanship there.
You only get one ring, not a pair.
You can increase the quantity to 25!?
- (who has that much time and energy, seriously)
- (...though I guess you could supervise two simultaneous IRL trials?)
You get the added benefit of having to postpone your big day until all the items are shipped at once.

Follow @Lysette 's advice. You've never seen gold until you've been to UAE. It's sold by weight only. They throw in some crazy craftsmanship at no charge.

This is one of the most absurd cash grabs I've ever seen.

Ravensilver · January 2021

The ring is not worth $1000.

The ring is only 10k gold. Which means that it contains only 41,6 % pure gold. It is also not very wide, only 0.24 inches. Measure that off and you'll see that it's a really thin band.

It's not handmade. The primary model was most likely 3D-printed. That way you can print hundreds of these ring-models in different sizes in a really short period of time.
Then you take the wax models and vacuum cast them all at the same time.
Do a bit of cleaning, a bit of fast polishing and you're done.

Let's say the ring weighs 6 grams. Then it contains around 2,5 g gold. Price of gold/g is around $ 60/g. So the gold price is around $ 150. Add the other metals, you're at a base price of around $ 160.
Let's be generous and add $ 50 für the wax and the printing and the casting costs. Another $ 10 for labor for cleaning and polishing. We can round up and say at most $ 250 manufacturing cost for the ring. Markup of 50 % and you have around $ 375. Even if you add licensing costs and shipping and handling, you're at $ 500 at most.

renne · January 2021

The price is entirely typical for not trash-made tie in jewellery. Tie in jewellery and items from video games, movies, tv shows, etc, with a vague bit of quality attached (i.e. not like brass 'n stuff you'd still over pay for) all are priced like this because you're not just going down to the jewellers and getting a ring/necklace/etc, you're getting something that is literally merchandise.

Is it not worth the money? Absolutely. Is it also an "absurd cash grab" people should slam Bethesda for? Absolutely not. It's pretty bog standard pricing.

Someone previously mentioned the One Ring. You can drop anywhere from a hundo up to $4500 for the One Ring. FOUR AND A HALF K. Not to mention all the other expensive versions of that. But when it comes down to it, it's just book/movie merch. And people will pay that for it.

Goregrinder · January 2021

renne wrote: »

The price is entirely typical for not trash-made tie in jewellery. Tie in jewellery and items from video games, movies, tv shows, etc, with a vague bit of quality attached (i.e. not like brass 'n stuff you'd still over pay for) all are priced like this because you're not just going down to the jewellers and getting a ring/necklace/etc, you're getting something that is literally merchandise.

Is it not worth the money? Absolutely. Is it also an "absurd cash grab" people should slam Bethesda for? Absolutely not. It's pretty bog standard pricing.

Someone previously mentioned the One Ring. You can drop anywhere from a hundo up to $4500 for the One Ring. FOUR AND A HALF K. Not to mention all the other expensive versions of that. But when it comes down to it, it's just book/movie merch. And people will pay that for it.

Couldn't have said it better myself cotton.