Example C · Basis · 5 pages Fictional business, website by SGS · Why does this site work? · also Example A · Example B · Example D · ← all examples · Nederlands

Veerle Vink,
goldsmith.

Twelve years ago I set up my workbench in Voorbeeldstad. Since then every piece from Goudvink has passed through my hands, and mine alone.

Goldsmith Veerle at her wooden workbench with the half-round cut-out and the leather skin, loupe on her forehead, gold ring between her fingers, daylight from the side
Veerle at her workbench

Schoonhoven

I trained in Schoonhoven, the Dutch silver town, at the trade school for gold- and silversmiths. Then I spent eight years in a studio where I mostly made wedding rings. Hundreds of them. There I learned that above all a ring has to fit well, even after thirty years.

The workbench

My workbench was a gift from my teacher. Beech, with a half-moon cut out of the front so I sit right in the middle. Under that cut-out hangs a leather skin. Everything I file and saw falls into it.

Lemel

That gold dust is called lemel. I sweep it together every week and send it to the refinery. That way nothing is lost, and the gold stays in circulation.

Why a bullfinch

My surname is Vink, Dutch for finch. The bullfinch is a small, round bird with a rosy-red breast and a black cap. Not showy, but faithful: a pair stays together summer and winter. That felt right for wedding rings.

The hallmark

Inside every piece I strike three marks. The bullfinch is my maker’s mark. The number is the fineness: 585 for 14 carat, 750 for 18 carat, 950 for platinum. The letter is the year. Gold pieces go to WaarborgHolland for the official hallmark.

maker’s mark
585
fineness
Z
date letter

Fair gold

I buy new gold Fairmined: from small mines that look after their people and nature. Platinum is recycled. And the most beautiful gold is the gold that already exists: yours.

  • 1,200+rings made since 2014
  • 100%Fairmined or recycled gold
  • 4–6 weeksfor a bespoke ring

How we make your ring

From the first hour at the bench to the engraving: four steps, usually in four to six weeks.

  1. 1

    Introductory meeting

    An hour at the workbench, free.

    You come to the studio for an hour. We measure your ring size, you hold gold and stones and I sketch along.

  2. 2

    Design and price

    A sketch, with the price in gold and hours.

    A week later you have a finished sketch. The price on it includes VAT and gold, and won’t change.

  3. 3

    Making

    Four to six weeks, by hand.

    I melt, forge, set and polish. For big pieces I send a photo from the workbench halfway through.

  4. 4

    Fitting and collecting

    Engraving, hallmark and a polishing cloth to take home.

    You try the ring on in the studio. If everything’s right, I engrave it and it goes home in a velvet pouch.

Book a studio appointment