Behind the Scenes - Making a Breastmilk Ring

The process of making your breastmilk jewellery takes an average of 4-6 weeks... but what actually happens during that time? I thought I'd give you a little insight into what the typical timeline and process looks like, using a Simple Silver Ring as the example.

Stage 1 - Preservation

The first step on your breastmilks journey after arriving with me is preservation. The breastmilk is gently heated over a double boiler and combined with preserving agent. The preservation process takes around 10 minutes and once complete, the milk is a large, spongy, moist flake.

Stage 2 - Drying

The next part of the process requires the preserved breastmilk to dry out completely. This part of the process can vary from a few days to weeks, depending on the quantity of milk and it's unique qualities. To be ready to work with the milk flake needs to be completely dry and 'snap' when broken.

Stage 3 - Grinding

The next stage of the process is to grind the breastmilk flake. This can take anything from a few minutes to several grinds over several days (if there is found to still be moisture in the breastmilk or it is 'rubbery'). How the breastmilk grinds depends on it's unique make up. Some breastmilk will produce a fine, talc like powder. Others may grind to a chunkier, flakier finish or be more gritty in appearance. All of this is normal and will be the main factor in determining what the finished jewellery looks like.

Stage 4 - Ready for Resin

Once the breastmilk is as fine as it can be, it is ready to be combined with resin to create the stone for your breastmilk jewellery. This part of the process is very labour intensive and is done in stages. It's really important that the breastmilk stone is solid, doesn't have air pockets or surface imperfections and a lot of time is taken trying to prevent and check for these things. Once the stone is created and set, it then is given a final topcoat of shiny, clear resin to protect the breastmilk.

Stage 5 - Setting the Stone

In this case, the stone is destined for a Simple Silver Breastmilk Ring. Once the stone is finished, topcoated, sanded and ready the next stage is to set it into the metal. It needs to be allowed time to completely set before this can be done.

Setting the stone is done using a ring clamp and burnisher. The edges of the metal cup are carefully pushed over the stone to create a seal. This requires time, patience and precision. The stone is properly set when all the edges of the metal cup are flush against the surface of the breastmilk stone with no dents or sharp edges, and everything is smooth to the touch.

Stage 6 - Polishing

Once the breastmilk stone is securely set into the ring, the final stage is Polishing. First the ring and stone are carefully checked again for any scratches or defects before the metal is carefully polished by machine and hand. Following this, the stone is given a gentle brush and polish before being carefully packaged.

Your breastmilk jewellery is now finished and ready to head home to you!