Entry No. 52 — the New York City file — filed under: hands-on
New York Wedding Ring (Sam Abbay)
Master goldsmith Sam Abbay runs day-long, one-on-one workshops where couples actually fabricate their own wedding bands rather than just picking them off a tray. You work with recycled precious metals including gold, platinum, palladium, and mokume gane, learning to shape, texture, and finish the rings under his guidance. It's a genuine bench-jewelry experience built around the rings you'll wear.
The story
Forget standing behind a glass case pointing at mass-produced bands on velvet trays. Tucked away in a private Manhattan fine jewelry studio, master goldsmith Sam Abbay hands you a high-temperature torch, hand tools, and raw stock so you can fabricate each other’s wedding rings from scratch. You spend a full day at a real jeweler's bench—hammering, torch-soldering, filing, and polishing raw metal into the exact object your partner will wear for life.
Abbay’s sessions aren't hands-off demonstrations where you watch a professional do the hard work. You work directly with recycled precious metals—including gold, platinum, palladium, and traditional Japanese wood-grain layered *mokume gane*—shaping raw stock into finished bands under his step-by-step instruction. Whether you're torching joints shut or hammering subtle surface textures, every mark on the metal is put there by your own hands.
What it's like
This is a private, intensive, day-long experience for one couple at a time, so you won't be sharing bench space with strangers. The exact studio location stays off the public marquee and is sent to you only after your appointment is locked in. Show up in practical clothes, ready to get metal dust on your fingers and take directions around open flames. You'll leave at the end of the afternoon carrying the finished bands you built together.
The move: Spend a day at the jeweler's bench fabricating each other's wedding bands from recycled gold, finishing the rings you'll exchange.
📍 Before you go Private day-long workshops are by appointment and booked in advance; bring ring-size and design ideas.
- 📍 Manhattan, NYC
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: New York, NY (studio address provided on booking)
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- The Arm Letterpress — Pair one hands-on analog craft workshop with another by seeing classic Vandercook presses and wood type in Williamsburg.
- Socrates Sculpture Park — Trade micro-scale metalsmithing at the jeweler's bench for monumental outdoor metal and stone sculpture on the Queens waterfront.
- Morris-Jumel Mansion — After working with raw metals, head uptown to inspect mid-18th-century woodwork and architecture inside Manhattan's oldest house.
Good to know
Do we actually make the rings ourselves?
Yes. Sam Abbay guides you step-by-step through using torches, files, hammers, and polishing wheels, but you do the physical fabrication work on each other's rings.
What metals can we work with?
Workshops utilize recycled precious metals, including gold, platinum, palladium, and fused multi-metal mokume gane.
How do we get the studio address and book a session?
Workshops are strictly by appointment and booked in advance through Sam Abbay's website; the studio address in Manhattan is provided upon confirmation.
What do we need to prepare before arriving?
You should bring your accurate ring sizes and clear design concepts to ensure the day is spent executing your vision at the bench.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Yelp · Tripadvisor · The New York Times
last checked: 2026-06-23