Handmade Rings- Seoul

On Tuesday the hubby and I got to go on a date to Seoul without the kids! It was nice to not have to worry about little ones running off, or not hurrying up, or touching everything, or having to find a bathroom asap.

I surprised my handsome man by taking him to a 반지 (ring) cafe. We made rings for each other. It's a Korean fad for couples to make rings (think pre-engagement rings). They show that you are in a relationship, though not necessarily engaged or married. Since Sweet Stuff and I have been married for over 11 years, it was just a fun thing to do. Out rings have our finger print and when we put the rings together, they create a heart. ♡.

The rings aren't cheap, but definitely something we thought was worth the price, and then they were on sale for 50% off...score! Our rings were ₩70,000 for the 2 and the laser engraving of our fingerprints.

Here are pictures of the process. It took about an hr to make them. Then we had to wait about an hour for the laser engraving to finish. During that wait time we went and ate some delicious Vietnamese food. Allot yourself 2-3 hrs for the entire process.

They start by sizing your finger. Then you are given a piece of flat metal that you file down to the marks they've made on it for you.

Next, if you want to have initials, a date, or symbols on the inside of your ring, you stamp them. We put the day's date and a ♡.

Next they pound the flat metal into a circular ring. After that they solder the ends together.

This is what they look like at this point...pretty, right?

Then it is our turn to pound away. You pound it to to correct size and it becomes a real circle.

Next comes the many phases of buffing. We buffed it 3 or 4 times with different buffing tips. Each time the ring got shinier and prettier.

The rings after buffing.

They took a fingerprint of each of us and told us to come back in an hr.

We left and at this delicious meal at a restaurant a few blocks away. All I can say is Y.U.M!

When we got back, our rings were almost finished. This is the final result:

Added next to our wedding rings:

They have cute heads you can wear too:

Here is a selection of the rings and jewelry you can make:

Directions:

1. Take the number 4 subway line to Hyehwa Station.
2. Exit out door number 1.
3. Take our immediate right and follow the road for a block to where it splits at the 9th Table pastry shop. 
   
4. Take the left fork and follow the narrow road to where it makes a hard left. 
   
5. The Coban Banji Cafe is on the 2nd floor of the building on your left.