Why Choose Ashes Memorial Jewellery

I am Julia Usher. I am a classically trained jeweller. I make memorial jewellery from ashes, hair and fingerprints, and I make every piece myself, at my bench in a woodland workshop in rural Staffordshire.

When you send me your loved one's ashes, they do not go to a factory. They come to my bench. I am the person who opens your pack, I am the person who makes your piece, and I am the person who sends it home to you.

At the bench since 2001

I started at the Birmingham School of Jewellery in 2001 and qualified in 2004. I have worked as a jeweller ever since. You can read more about me and my workshop here.

There is no team here. There is no production line. It is me, and my dad Mark, who looks after our customers and emails you the moment your pack reaches the bench. Jessie the cat is head of quality control.

A great deal of memorial jewellery is made in batches, by people whose names you will never learn. Mine is not.

One jeweller specialising in five techniques

Most memorial jewellers specialise in one type of commemoration jewellery. I specialise in five. Memorial jewellery should be unique, just like the person, or the special pet, I have the privilege of commemorating for you.

Resin inlay. Ashes or hair are inlaid into a clear resin gemstone.

Imprinting. Ashes are imprinted, or rolled, onto solid metal, so the piece is metal the whole way through.

Laser engraving. A fingerprint or a paw print is engraved onto the metal.

Titanium. Ashes, or hair, are held securely and unseen within the ring itself. I am one of the very few memorial jewellers in the United Kingdom working in titanium, and it is the piece most often chosen by men.

Hair. Hair can be inlaid into resin, imprinted onto metal, or held within a titanium ring. Very few makers are able to work with hair at all.

I work only in sterling silver, 9ct gold and titanium. You can see how your jewellery is made here.

This matters more than it sounds. A maker who works only with one technique can only ever recommend that one technique. I can look at what you have, at what you want to wear, and at how you live, then tell you honestly which of the five suits you. Often that is not the most expensive one.

Is resin good enough for memorial jewellery?

Yes, when it is the right resin and you are told how to look after it.

A lot gets said about resin in this trade and some of it is fair. Cheap resin does yellow. Cheap resin does soften. I have seen it.

I do not use cheap resin and never have. I use the highest grade UV stable, jeweller's grade, two part epoxy resin I can buy. UV stable means it is made to resist the yellowing that sunlight causes. Jeweller's grade means it is made for jewellery, not for craft projects.

Every resin piece I send out comes with a care card. If the care advice is followed correctly, the wearer will have no problems at all.

A company that cannot work in resin at all will tell you that resin is the problem. Resin is not the problem. The grade of it is, and whether anybody troubled to tell you how to care for it.

Resin does something glass cannot

If a lock of hair is what you have, resin is not a compromise. It is the answer.

Hair cannot be crafted into a piece of glass memorial jewellery. Glass is worked at a heat that burns hair away, so it does not survive the process at all. A maker who works only with glass cannot make you a piece with hair in it.

Resin has the clarity of glass. When I inlay a lock of hair, you can see every strand exactly as it was.

Hair works beautifully imprinted onto metal too. So if hair is what you have, you have three good options here.

Can I use hair instead of ashes?

Yes. You do not need to have ashes at all. A small lock of hair is enough.

That means I can make a piece from a lock of hair for someone you have lost, or for a much loved pet.

Hair, or a pet's fur, is also a lovely way to preserve special memories of those we still have with us. Some people ask me for this when time is short, and I am always glad to help.

When I will tell you not to choose resin

Resin is not right for everybody, and I will say so.

If you never take your jewellery off, if you swim in it, shower in it, or have your hands in water all day, resin is not your best choice. It does not like water, heat or perfume.

For you I would suggest an imprinted piece instead. Imprinted jewellery is solid metal the whole way through, so you can shower in it and swim in it. A laser engraved fingerprint is solid metal too, and so is a titanium ring.

I will always be honest with you. I know how much this treasured piece will mean to you, and I believe it is my duty to make sure you have the right piece for your lifestyle.

What happens to what you send me

Please do not post anything until you have ordered online. Once you have, I send you an ashes collection pack, with instructions on how to send the ashes back to me and my address.

I need about a heaped teaspoon of ashes, or a small lock of hair. That is all.

Your ashes collection pack is sent to you by Royal Mail 1st Class. Your finished jewellery comes home to you by Royal Mail Special Delivery.

My dad Mark will email you when your loved one's ashes arrive at the bench, so you know they are safely with me, and he will give you a timescale for when to expect your special piece.

Any ashes or hair I do not use comes home to you with your finished piece, along with a commemorative card showing the date your jewellery was made by me, Julia.

Pets as well

I make memorial jewellery for pets too. Ashes, fur and paw prints, in the same five ways and to the same standard.

My guarantee

Every piece is handcrafted to order, by me.

If something is ever wrong with your piece, email me a photograph. I will assess it myself and personally be in touch. If it is found to be a manufacturing fault, then I will of course make your piece again for you, free of charge. The full terms are on my returns page.

I am one person. If something is wrong, you will not be going through a call centre to reach me.

If you are not sure

Please just ring me on 01283 260245, or email info@ashesmemorialjewellery.com.

There is no pressure here and no sales team. It will be me or my dad who answers.

Losing someone is hard enough. Deciding what to do next should not be.