Memorial Jewellery Doesn't Have to Look Like Memorial Jewellery

What if you could carry the memory of someone you love in a beautiful piece of jewellery, without anyone knowing what it holds?

Memorial jewellery doesn't have to look traditional. It doesn't need to have visible ashes or an obvious reminder of loss.

Sometimes the most meaningful jewellery is the kind that keeps its story hidden.

Over the years, I've created gold rings, sea glass necklaces and spinning pendants with deeply personal meanings. And one thing I've learnt is that people aren't always looking for something that immediately looks like memorial jewellery.

They're looking for something they genuinely love wearing.

Something that reminds them of a person or pet who meant the world to them, without having to explain its meaning to anyone else.

It all began with a diamond ring

My journey into memorial jewellery started when a friend lost her beloved dog.

She'd been looking at memorial rings, but the designs she'd found weren't quite what she wanted.

I suggested something different.

What if we created a beautiful gold ring with a diamond, and kept the ashes discreetly hidden beneath the stone?

She chose a salt-and-pepper diamond, and together we worked out the design.

The finished piece looked like a distinctive gold diamond ring. Nobody would know it held her dog's ashes unless she chose to tell them.

That first commission changed the way I thought about memorial jewellery.

Since then, I've created other personal pieces to remember loved ones and much-loved pets. Every commission has its own story, and I love getting to know the people behind them.

But one particular commission led me somewhere I hadn't been before.

Before the diamond was set

The finished memorial ring

They searched around the world before finding my spinning necklace

A gentleman contacted me about creating a memorial necklace for his beloved dog.

He told me that he and his partner had visited jewellery shops and searched websites around the world, trying to find something that felt right.

Then they came across my gold spinning necklace.

Out of all the jewellery they'd looked at, it was my design that caught their attention.

I can't tell you how much that meant to me.

Before deciding to go ahead, we arranged a couple of Zoom meetings. They wanted to know more about me, how I worked and who they would be trusting with something so precious.

And I wanted to understand what mattered to them.

During our conversations, they told me about their dog and his free-spirited personality.

They didn't want his ashes fixed in resin.

They wanted them to move freely, just as he had.

I thought that was such a beautiful way to remember him.

And I knew I wanted to find a way to make it possible.

A gold spinning necklace with a hidden memory

My signature spinning necklaces are designed to move.

The gold sphere spins freely within the outer setting, making the necklace wonderfully tactile and responsive to touch.

It's a design I've spent years developing and refining, and one I'm incredibly proud of.

But creating a version that could hold ashes while allowing them to move freely inside the sphere was a completely different challenge.

It took a great deal of thought, experimentation and careful craftsmanship.

When I finally found a way to make it work, I was so happy with what I'd achieved.

The ashes could move freely inside a permanently sealed chamber within the gold sphere, while the sphere itself could still spin.

The finished necklace looked like my signature gold spinning design, with beautiful blue diamonds chosen by the clients.

There was nothing about its appearance to suggest it contained ashes.

What made this necklace so special to me wasn't only the technical achievement. It was knowing that its movement represented something about the dog they loved.

His personality had become part of the meaning behind the jewellery.

A signature design, made personal through gemstones

One of the things I love about my spinning necklaces is how much personality can come from the gemstones.

The design itself remains the same, but the choice of stones can make each necklace feel completely different.

The first memorial spinning necklace featured blue diamonds. Someone else might prefer white diamonds, green sapphires or a particular shade of blue topaz.

Perhaps there's a colour that reminds you of someone's eyes, a favourite place or a memory you share.

We can discuss the gemstones, their sizes and the details together, finding a combination that works beautifully with the necklace.

You don't have to choose ashes to give a spinning necklace personal meaning, either. Sometimes the gemstones themselves tell the story.

The design remains unmistakably mine. The meaning it holds belongs entirely to you.

The trust behind every memorial commission

There's something I don't think I'll ever become accustomed to.

Someone choosing to trust me with the ashes of a person or pet they've loved.

It's an enormous responsibility, and one I take very seriously.

I know these aren't materials that can simply be replaced if something goes wrong. That's why I put so much care and attention into every stage of the work.

I also value the conversations before a commission begins. Getting to know someone, hearing about the memories they want to carry and understanding why they've chosen my jewellery makes the finished piece so much more meaningful.

And when I hear from clients after they've received their jewellery, and they tell me how much it means to them, it's difficult to put that feeling into words.

It's one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.

Can a gold spinning necklace hold ashes discreetly?

Yes. My signature solid gold spinning necklace can be made with a securely sealed chamber inside the gold sphere, allowing a small amount of ashes to move freely.

The ashes aren't visible, and the necklace retains the appearance and movement of my original spinning design.

You can also personalise the necklace through your choice of gemstones, whether or not you wish to include ashes.

Each necklace is individually handmade in my Cornwall studio, with the details discussed before I begin making it.

Something beautiful, with a story only you know

When I created that first memorial ring for my friend, I never imagined it would eventually lead me to making spinning necklaces with ashes moving freely inside.

But that's one of the things I love about being a jeweller.

Sometimes a conversation or a memory leads to something you hadn't imagined before.

And sometimes the most personal jewellery doesn't need to look like memorial jewellery at all.

It can simply be a necklace you fall in love with, made even more meaningful by what it holds.

To everyone else, it's a beautiful piece of jewellery. To you, it means so much more.

If you've been searching for a different kind of memorial necklace and my gold spinning design speaks to you, I'd love to hear from you.

We can talk about the gemstones, the details that matter to you and how I can create a personal version of my signature necklace.

Enquire about a bespoke memorial spinning necklace

Marketa

Booblinka Jewellery | Cornwall