Model Engineers’ Workshop – August 2019

66 http://www.model-engineer.co.uk Model Engineers’ Workshop

Making Some

Gimmel Rings

I

n late 2016 I received an email from

somebody in Thailand – could I make a

pair of puzzle rings as wedding rings. I

replied that I could but would really need

to meet them fi rst. They turned up in

early December and it became apparent

that they didn’t want puzzle rings – they

wanted gimmel rings (also spelt as gimmal

or gemmal).

What’s a gimmel ring? I hear you ask, and,

for that matter, what’s a puzzle ring?

A puzzle ring consists of a number of

hoops (usually four) linked together in such

a way that they can be manipulated to form

a single woven ring. They are notoriously

diffi cult to assemble if you don’t know

how. Photograph 1 shows such a ring

assembled and disassembled. This example

is unusual as it is set with garnets.

A gimmel ring is a ring with two or three

separate hoops or links that fi t together to

form one complete ring. The name gimmel

comes from Latin gemellus, meaning twin.

In Elizabethan England they were known as

Joint Rings. In the 16th and 17th centuries,

such rings were fashionable in England,

Germany, and other countries, where they

were oft en used as betrothal rings. The

engaged couple would each wear one hoop

and link them to use as a single ring on the

wedding day. With triple link rings, a third

person could witness the couple’s vows

and hold the third part of the ring until the

marriage, when the hoops were linked to

make a single wedding ring.

Photograph 2 shows an example of an

ancient gimmel ring of 2 hoops.

Although I’d made lots of puzzle rings,

I’d never made a gimmel ring before, but I

agreed to do some experimenting and, if

the results were satisfactory, would make

them a pair out of the latest precious metal

• Palladium*. The man’s ring was to be
  4mm wide, and the woman’s 3.5mm. The

Gary Wooding rises to a fascinating challenge

1

*Palladium is the latest Precious Metal, and joined Silver, Gold, and Platinum in 2010.

Palladium has much in common with Platinum - it is very white, does not require plating

and does not tarnish.

It is less dense and less expensive than Platinum and the consequences of mistakenly

confusing it could be costly.

Only precious metals can be Hallmarked. From June 2009 a voluntary Hallmark could

be applied, but from January 1st 2010 it became compulsory. It is illegal to sell a Palladium

article made aft er that date unless it contains an offi cial Hallmark.

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