The Jeweler

We have a Jeweler here in Mandalgov that makes all the jewelry they sell in the little shop. It is a shop that is about 10ft x 12ft and a young man and his wife work there. I walked by one day and saw him making some jewelry and I was amazed. It gave me an idea for a gift for Justin's birthday. As you've seen in the pictures we've posted (and probably heard about it in emails) Justin has lost a substantial amount of weight. His wedding band (along with his pants) doesn't fit and slips off too easily. So I had a great adventure going to the Jeweler's with one of my teachers (to help me translate) and had the Jeweler create a ring for Justin. He had several designs to choose from. I wanted this ring to symbolize our time in Mongolia so I chose a horse design. Horses are very respected creatures and have a long history with the Mongolians. They are very symbolic animals meaning happiness, strength, power. The design I chose has two horses on it. My teacher (who went with me) told me that it is very common for men to have some sort of symbol with two horses on it.

Enough about that. On with the show. The Jeweler laughed when I asked him if I may take pictures while he made the ring. He first weighed the exact amount of silver needed from silver scraps that he had. He needed 8.82 grams.


Then he melted the silver and made it into a ring shape.




Then created the design and sized it by hammering it onto the sizer pole very delicately.






This all took about 30 minutes and he did it all right before our eyes. I just found it all fascinating. The price was unbelievably low, too! Only 10,000 Tugriks (about $8). Now, I never said this was high quality jewelry. The ring I bought would probably only cost about $20 at most if I bought it in the states. But, it has meaning, history, memories and was made with love!