Duncan & Clarke

A completely satisfying and enjoyable experience. I can’t say enough nice things about Chris — we had a great time hanging out with him for the better part of a day, making our rings. He’s great fun to talk to and has had a lifetime of interesting experiences.
Chris is an excellent teacher! My fiancée and I had zero experience working with open flames, torches, metals, and whatnot but felt very comfortable in Chris’s workshop. He walked us through each step and made us feel completely comfortable with what was happening. Chris took the time to talk to us and understand what it was we wanted — and we ended up with exactly that. It’s crazy. We made each others’ rings, and I’ll think about that fun day every time I put my ring on. Highly, highly recommend.

My fiancé and I made our wedding rings… with our own two hands… under the expert guidance of Chris Duncan. It is without a doubt the coolest thing we’ve done in preparing to get married. We really like making things together, though we’ve never done anything quite this impressive, and the whole experience was just really fun. And Chris is such a lovely human! — And Harry such a lovely dog! — Extremely personable, fantastic jeweler, with delightful stories, and a heart of gold (/​platinum/​palladium). We kind of wish we lived next door /​at sea. Hurray!

The moment I left Duncan and Clarke Design I tried to check-​in but realized that they were not on the Unilocal map so it is my joy and honor to put them on the map.
I came here with my fiancé to make our own wedding rings. When i say make I’m not just talking about, watching a jeweler make it for us while we just touched the blow torch that melted the metals — No! We literally got the chance to sit down and get our hands dirty (literally) making one another’s wedding rings for one another.
We arrived at 9:30am and left around 4:30pm.
The entire wedding ring making experience was unbelievable!
When we arrived we were greeted by Chris Duncan, the primary owner of the workshop. He greeted us, took a photo of us as we arrived and begun the process of discussing some ring sizes and designs. For us, we went with the simple solid band made of silver and palladium. (For the record, you can choose whichever metal you want for the ring)
Then for the next 7 hours Chris guided us through the process of melting the metal ore into a liquid, pouring the liquid, flattening it, cutting it, shaping it, refining it, polishing it, and finally imprinting it with some custom words that we wanted our rings to have. The experience included lunch, a bottle of champagne, and photos of the entire experience on a CD.
The experience will always be one on one (or two on one) so you can really enjoy working with your spouse. While I was sanding her ring, she would be polishing mine. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and at the end of the day we got to take home our rings and they looked amazing! The best part is we could tell our friends that we made these rings — from scratch.
Chris did a great job in guiding us through the process and showing us how to do something before we did it. He helped us with the engraving portion because it can be a bit tricky, but everything else — from the beginning to end — was all us! Chris was great to work with and a great teacher and overall swell guy! He has a passion for his work and loves designing and creating jewelry as well as teaching others how to create their wedding rings.
I cannot encourage you all to visit his shop in Warrenton, VA — it is worth the drive and the time spent there will be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. How many people can say that they made their own wedding rings? My fiancé loved every moment of it and we can’t stop sharing it with our friends and families who are all VERY impressed by the end result and many are hoping to jump on board themselves.
If you are interested in doing this make sure to email him first as this is all done by appointment, for obvious reasons.
Guys, check this place out — it’s worth the money, worth the time, and you will make your fiancé a very happy person.
Check it out!