Der Goldschmied

Hand engraving runs through the ring gallery of Der Goldschmied, the studio of Mathias Leo Jenny at Rümelinsplatz 2 in Basel's old town. We admire how much of the work here is cut by hand: wedding bands, signet rings with full coats of arms, a ring engraved for a brewer. Jenny works much of the time in gold labeled as eco gold and treats a wedding ring as one commission among many kinds of ring, which is why the ring page is a long gallery with a short caption under each photo. For a couple planning a Swiss wedding from abroad, the pages are in German, and the contact block gives a telephone number and an email address as the ways to get in touch.

Hand-engraved bands in 18 and 22 karat gold

Wedding rings appear repeatedly in the gallery. "Eheringe - 18 Karat mit Handgravur" appears early on. Later entries pair white and red gold with hand engraving, show red gold engraved by hand, list eco yellow gold and plain 18 karat yellow gold, and include a single ring in platinum and yellow gold. One is a "22 Karat Hausmischung", a house alloy, also engraved by hand. Another is a set of wedding rings with a 0,52 carat diamond in eco gold of 18 and 24 karat. Plain bands and bands with a stone sit in the same gallery as everything else, so you browse wedding pairs next to engagement and dress rings rather than in a separate catalog, and can see what the same hand does with a band, a stone and a crest.

The word "Öko" turns up all over the page: Ökorotgold, Ökogelbgold, Ökoweissgold, and in places the spelling Oekogold. Gold of 22 karat shows up in several other pieces too, from a knotted ring to a sister ring that combines 18 and 22 karat, and a ring in 24 karat gold sits in the gallery as well. For couples who like the deeper color of high-karat gold, that range is a draw, all the more with an engraving cut by hand.

Solitaires, old-cut diamonds and colored stones

If you want both rings from one place, the gallery is mostly engagement and statement rings. There are solitaires with diamonds of 0,50 carat, 1,01 carat and 1,68 carat, trilogy rings, alliance rings lined with brilliants, and colored stones such as tourmaline, sapphire, emerald and tanzanite. One piece is a 12,6 carat emerald-cut diamond solitaire in platinum with tapered baguettes. Several pieces carry a GIA diamond, and a paraiba tourmaline of 3,86 carat comes with a certificate.

Old-cut diamonds come up again and again, from an engagement ring with three old-cut stones in eco red gold to a 1,5 carat old-cut solitaire in white gold, which is a good lead for a couple who like antique-looking stones. A black-diamond ring in red gold costs CHF 1690 (November 2026). It's the only price on the page, so it gives no guide to the cost of a wedding pair.

Coats of arms and monograms engraved by hand

Beyond wedding and engagement rings, the studio makes signet rings with full coats of arms engraved by hand, one in platinum 950, and a pair of platinum rings with a blackened engraved coat of arms. There are monogram rings, sister rings, friendship rings, a gimmel ring, and a "Hopfenring" engraved for a brewer and set with colored brilliants. For a wedding, the engraving is the useful part: a family crest or monogram can go on a ring from a studio that already engraves them by hand, and a couple joining two families can carry both onto one pair. The studio also offers bracelets, necklaces and earrings, so other pieces for the day can come from the same place.

Opening hours on Rümelinsplatz

The opening hours, as printed in November 2026, are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:30, Wednesday from 10:00 to 12:00, and Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00; Monday and Sunday aren't listed. Delivery times aren't published, so ask how long engraved rings take before planning a visit around it, and expect to arrange the details in German, by phone or email.

Engraving and stones next to Goldschmiede-Basel.ch

Goldschmiede-Basel.ch, another Basel studio, makes every wedding ring a one-off designed with the couple, in 100% recycled Oekogold or Fairtrade gold on request. Der Goldschmied overlaps on eco gold, and the difference is the weight of hand engraving and of gemstone work: its gallery is dominated by engraved bands and stone-set pieces. A couple who want a crest or a monogram cut into a gold band, and perhaps an old-cut diamond for the engagement ring, will find that range under one roof in the Basel old town.