This Utah company makes ‘Lord of the Rings’ wedding bands for men

When girls wander into a jewellery shop, Michelle Luchese suggests, they tend to get “the red carpet rolled out.”

But when she and her then-fiancé, John Ruggiero, went browsing for his marriage ring, Ruggiero claims he listened to a little something more like, “There’s a very little desk in the again of the retail outlet, go look at individuals.”

He typically observed only a few or 4 rings, all of which he frequently considered were unaffordable — and none that match his large fingers.

“I’m like, ‘This is my marriage ring,’” Ruggiero claimed. “I’m intended to dress in this the rest of my lifetime. Should not I be a minor enthusiastic? And in its place, it was just a huge stress.”

That expertise encouraged the newlyweds to commence their enterprise, Manly Bands, in their garage in Rosemary Beach front, Fla., in 2016.

Nowadays, just after a move to Utah, Manly Bands delivers men’s rings manufactured from tungsten, wood from whiskey and wine barrels, antlers, carbon fiber, meteorites and even dinosaur bone. In a armed service heritage series, they have made rings of metallic from retired aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, a Sherman tank and elements of M1 Garand rifles.

“It’s amazing looking at fellas link to one thing other than a conventional gold or silver and white gold band,” Ruggiero claimed. “They truly appear to want a little something that is far more of their individuality than the common types.”

The firm has branded lines, with rings inspired by Jack Daniels, Fender guitars — some showcasing an embedded guitar string — and DC Comics.

Then, earlier this year, the business uncovered alone drawn to sure rings of electrical power.

1 ring to bind them

When Ruggiero read Amazon Studios was preparing a new tv collection prequel to “Lord of the Rings,” he reached out to Warner Bros. “We requested them, ‘Hey, we’d enjoy to make the A single Ring,’” he explained.

Warner Bros. replied that it could not connect the business to the tv show, but it agreed to license rings from the trilogy of publications and first flicks, Ruggiero claimed.

Manly Band’s designers begun brainstorming ideas for the selection back in March. “We’re really striving to make it enjoyment … a great deal of the crew like Lord of the Rings,” Ruggiero claimed.

Of the 9 rings created, The Gandalf, The Frodo, The Aragorn, The Legolas, and The Gimli are dependent on characters that kind the fellowship of the ring — who seek to wipe out the at any time-corrupting A single Ring created by the dim lord Sauron.

The corporation is also producing rings for Sauron, the ringwraiths — corrupted adult males who do his bidding — and Gollum, who obsessed more than the One particular Ring to the position of murdering to acquire it.

And, arguably a chilling option for a wedding ceremony, the Just one Ring itself, an evil gold band that empowers the wearer to manage others “and in the darkness bind them.”

The rings are each individual created from diverse materials — for illustration, The Frodo incorporates moss trapped in epoxy resin. The Gimli attributes the sample proven on the dwarf’s helmet in the videos. The Legolas has an embedded recurve bow string and The Sauron incorporates lava rock.

Warner Bros. had to approve each and every individual layout in advance of the launch about a thirty day period ago. Because then, The Lord of the Rings line “has been tremendous thriving for us,” Ruggiero mentioned. “It’s been amongst our finest sellers.”

Kaelin Douglas, who life in Fort Worth, Texas, purchased the marriage ceremony band dependent on Gimli for her spouse.

“My fiancé was complaining about other selections and how tedious the offerings had been. Primarily gold or black simple bands,” Douglas claimed, “while there’s a earth of unique customizations and flash for women of all ages.”

She liked the Gimli layout because “it’s refined ample that no just one but a fan would know on first look,” nevertheless was intricate and gave the perception that “they did their research on the figures,” she claimed.

“My fiancé is a substantial Lord of the Rings enthusiast,” she reported, “and we required a marriage ceremony band that integrated that without the need of getting too overt about what it was.”

‘Who buys the groom’s ring?’

Manly Band’s headquarters and manufacturing house is in Lindon, exactly where it has about 65 staff members.

Its workers devices rings from resources that are more challenging than cherished metals, these as tungsten and Damascus steel. Rings produced of wood, or with wooden inlays, are carved on a lathe, and some rings are coated in Cerakote, a hardy ceramic finish that is used to paint guns and plane pieces.

Most of the rings in the ideal-selling class operate involving $300 and $1,000 and the enterprise will make a broad selection of sizes.

Manly Bands opened two retail suppliers in the previous year, a single at College Position in Orem past February and a single in Style Position in Murray in September, mentioned Eric Farlow, the company’s chief functioning officer.

But the corporation still sees most buys created on the internet, where it started its sales.

For the reason that some persons wait to expend hundreds on a ring they just can’t see, “we intensely invested in content development,” Ruggiero mentioned, in buy to show the merchandise up near and describe the differences in between supplies.

“We do a lot of YouTube content material. We help people understand about rings, wedding ceremony rings, men’s marriage ceremony rings, we chat about the diverse materials, the different designs, why they should buy from us,” he mentioned.

In these video clips, normally shot in opposition to a backdrop of sporting activities machines, whiskey bottles and gaming equipment, organization reps display off closeups of rings, compare their composition (”Pros and drawbacks of wood rings”) and discuss about marriage ceremony-similar issues.

“Who purchases the groom’s ring?” will get into ring heritage — American men didn’t begin widely putting on wedding bands right up until the 1940s — and “WTF Did They Set On Their Ring?” shares what recent shoppers requested to have engraved on their bands. (Examples involve ”I’m in it for the sex,” “No additional diet plans for me,” “Put me again on” and “Don’t lose this a person,” and on the sweeter side: “Wife’s B-Day” with the date, and “Two wishes remaining.”)

Manly Bands programs to make impending rings from a 1940s Willys Jeep fender and scrap metallic — with reliable hurt — from a B-17 bomber.

Developing rings is “a enjoyment problem,” Luchese reported, as they inquire with each and every new challenge, “how can we be different, improved, more appealing, a lot more revolutionary?”