Here’s the deal: You want your wedding jewelry to be beautiful and unique (but not so unique you regret your decisions in a few years), easy on your budget (cuz you’ve got a whole wedding to pay for), AND kind to the planet (um, #necessary). How do you make that happen? Friends, meet New Zealand–based Ash Hilton Jewelry. This fam has cracked the code on creating ethical handmade jewelry that feels fresh and modern, yet still has a timeless style.
Ash’s aesthetic is a minimalist’s dream (even these brand-new new blossom and bouquet designs!), yet still has tons of soul and personality. Pieces range from $195 to $5,800+, and he offers custom designs. Ash will personally work with you to tweak an existing design (think: adding diamonds or engraving) or come up with something totally original (sketch of the mountain you climbed together? Done!).
In fact, it’s with next level customer service that Ash and his wife and biz partner, Laurel, have built a thriving family business from their NZ home workshop that’s been serving happy customers world-wide for over a decade. (With over 700 five-star reviews to prove it!) As Laurel told us,
We’ve been able to build our business without ever sacrificing our core values and beliefs, which is incredibly freeing and motivating. We are super-focused on sustainability (ed note: they even make their own eco-friendly alternative to plastic ring sizers!), absolutely love forming a relationships with our customers and do everything we can to support social justice and equality. APW readers really reflect those values back to us, they “get us” and almost always have the funniest ring inscriptions.
And here is what one of their US-based customers had to say:
I’ve loved my entire experience with Ash Hilton. I live in Florida, and wanted to purchase quality, beautiful, ethical wedding bands for my husband and I. I found Ash Hilton, but kept searching since they are located in NZ and I thought I could find something closer. In the end, no one met my standards like Ash Hilton and the distance was worth it (plus the customer service is so efficient that the distance didn’t even matter).
They replied promptly with emails, and I hardly noticed the time difference. I read their communication policies, which included a day out of the office that they spend with family—I love that! I read about ring production and design, and both my husband and I are so pleased with the quality of the rings and the beauty of our designs. We sent in photos and paid for custom designs. So so glad we did—we love telling friends and family what the designs mean to us, and it makes our rings special and unique.
Fact check: How do you know if your new ethical bling is actually legitimately ethical? Well, when your ring is from Ash Hilton, it’s basically magical New Zealand fairy gold ethical—otherwise known as alluvial New Zealand beach gold—which the Ash Hilton team alloys and fabricates themselves. As Laurel told us:
It’s super, duper important to us that when we say a ring is ethical, it really is. Ash felt like he wanted the materials and process to be what drove the collection, as opposed to innovation in design. So, we took our time and found suppliers we knew we could trust. Our classic and simple engagement ring designs are made in either 100 percent recycled platinum or our super special alluvial New Zealand gold that we get off a beach near where Ash grew up. The center stones are either diamonds recycled from old pieces or newly mined stones from the Argyle mine in Australia. We’re also super happy to use lab-created diamonds or other colored gemstones.
We all know that wedding jewelry isn’t just for that day; more often than not, it’s the only thing you’ll wear all the time. It needs to last a lifetime, which makes it quite the emotional investment. But an emotional investment doesn’t have to be a financial burden. With rings even under $200 (yes, it’s true!), you’re sure to find the perfect one for you. Plus! All APW readers can receive 10% OFF with the code APW10.
And if you’re even more of a minimalist (or on a tighter budget), Ash and his sister Siggy also have a sister brand Good Gold focused on simple gold wedding bands—all the same people and same workshop, just focusing on plain bands with free shipping, resizing, and returns worldwide.
Ash Hilton’s pieces just really speak for themselves. They are FLAWLESS. And hands down, the fam’s favorite part of the business? Meeting couples from all over the world and hearing their love stories. Ash and Laurel have been working with APW readers for years (like these ones here and here), and y’all really are a perfect fit for each other. So get to it: go drool over their rings, learn more about their awesome family, and drop them a line… stat.
ASH AND LAUREL CAN’T WAIT TO CHAT! CONTACT THEM AND FIND THE JEWELRY YOU AND YOUR PARTNER WON’T WANT TO TAKE OFF FOREVER. FOREVER EVER. PLUS TAKE 10% OFF WITH CODE APW10.
