For years I’ve heard the question among skull ring collectors – Who made Keith Richards skull ring? From what I can tell, the origin of the guitar-players-in-skull-rings thing is Keith. Eric Clapton wears one, Billy Gibbons wears one, Zakk Wylde wears one, James Hetfield wears one. Johnny Depp wears one. But Keith’s is the original. […]
For years I’ve heard the question among skull ring collectors – Who made Keith Richards skull ring?
From what I can tell, the origin of the guitar-players-in-skull-rings thing is Keith. Eric Clapton wears one, Billy Gibbons wears one, Zakk Wylde wears one, James Hetfield wears one. Johnny Depp wears one.
But Keith’s is the original.
Who made it is the easy part. David Courts and Bill Hackett. The hard part though, has been how do I get one like it? For years people have attempted to copy Keith’s ring (or just put jewelry up on eBay saying it was a ‘Keith Richards ring’ without any attempt to make it look authentic).
Finally, David and Bill said – look, we’re getting jacked with this, why don’t we make our own version. After long talks with Keith, they came to agreement.
David and Bill works long and hard to get a version of the ring they could do commercially (since Keith’s was made one-of-a-kind). And shortly, it will become publicly available (any day now as I understand, as soon as final business details get worked out).
But heres the important part; I just heard from David (who’s a lovely human being) that mine shipped last monday. And I can’t be more stoked about it. I’m expecting to get it somewhere around the end of the week. And I’m just vibrating with excitement about it.
[EDIT]
I just got my ring. While David asked me not to share pictures yet, until the new site is up and the ring is shipping (soon, he says, but isn’t giving a hard date), I can say that it’s stunning. It fits like it’s made for me.
It’s no identical to Keith’s own ring (as it should be, since Keith’s was a hand made one-of-a-kind), but it’s teh same in look, feel and spirit. It comes in a bead blasted ‘shadow’ finish (I don’t know if they’ll also offer it in a bright-polished finish), which will gradually grow shiny with daily wear.
It’s a big ring; as big as my Deadringers ‘classic’. Only my Ruby Crush ring is bigger. And it’s heavy; a solid chunk of silver, not hollowed out For all that though, it fits so comfortably I didn’t notice the mass ’til I’d taken it off.
It’s a stunning piece.
Keith looks about 25 in that picture.
😀
Or rather that’s what Keith looked like when he was 25…
Grats on the new ring. You’re up to 6 now, right?
I want to hurt you.
So. fucken. lucky.
That’s a nice New Years present. You deserve it.
Oh, and, I loved this: “And I’m just vibrating with excitement about it.” I could work with that.
😉
Happy New Year, sweets.
Eve
Very cool. I want to see….
Pictures when?
You got it?!>!>! Awesome. Glad you’re happy about it….
Kiss
i posted this info two years ago i think, but ive realized that the ring i have must be something good, because ive never seen them for sale on ebay or elsewhere, wich must mean i got something good. the ring i have is the brotherhood of the skull ring. its from silverlust jewelery out of texas. website is http://www.silverlustonline.com
now the pictures on their site just dont do the ring justice. it weighs in at about 40 grams for my size 11. the ring is thick all over. the profile view of the teeth from the bottom must be at least a quarter of an inch thick. all solid , solid back, nothing hollow on this. the sides of the ring are some of the thickest ive seen on a keith richards type ring as well. id post some pics but i just sent the ring into them to get buffed and polished. and theirs another bit of info for ya. the ring being big as it is, and i wearing it daily can get banged up , scratched etc. i also mistakenly used a silver jewelry cleaner on it and it took away all of the black coloring on the ring. well i contacted them, they told me to send it in and it will be cleaned, buffed, polished and re-oxidized and the ring will be sent back to me like the day i recieved it. this is the second time i have sent in for a buffing and polishing. it is all done free of charge. they only charge i had was shipping it to them. they take care of the ring and ship it back to me all on their dime. daves custom skulls charges $30 for this service. im telling anybody right now, if you want a ring the looks more like kieths ring that you have ever seen, you cannot go wrong with this. if anyone would like to see detailed pictures of my ring , as soon as i get it back from them i will take them and send them to karl to post(if that is okay with him).
Sooooo will we see pictures? and more importantly, who has the link to order? I have e-mailed and had it returned saying address unknown. Are they already done making these?
…the new Courts and Hackett website is now online! The new Deaths Head Ring is amazing!
http://www.courtsandhackett.com
Karl,
Now that the pics are up on Courts and Hackett website, how about some pics so we can see what it looks like on your finger. What was the “presentation box” like (pics)?
Peace
Found the hand pic. Thanks
Just got my Courts and Hackett deaths’ head ring ordered it June 23 got it July 9th, expediently! I got the ring as a tribute to my summer of 1969 (40 years ago, folks). Anyway, just a tip for those of you that order the C&H ring, make sure you get a professional jeweler to size (wide-band) your ring. I went to one mall jeweler who mistook my size by 1 size but took a trip out to a jeweler who I trusted, who watched me pull off and on the wide-band rings for the optimal size. Thank you Karl for the web blog, your comments and the other posters certainly influenced my decision. Take care!
Bob, isn’t it a brilliant ring? It’s my favorite of all my skull rings. I wear it every day, it’s always on me. I FOrtunately I’m pretty god with ring sizes, due to wearing so many of these; my size order fit absolutely perfect.
David Courts is also, just FYI, a truly cool dude. I hope to meet the man in person next time I get my ass over to london.
Karl, yes…brilliant, breathtaking ring truly hypnotic. The ring is solid, I’ve had two custom gold rings (not skulls) I’ve worn off and on over the past twenty years…but the C&H death heads ring is now my fav. Now I’ve gotta get me a good silver cleaning cloth. I like the design because it can be worn top skull up towards the knuckle or down. Well when you get to the United Kigdom say hi to David Courts. Cheers!
If you wear it all the time you don’t really need much cleaning, it naturally polishes up and develops a patina. It’s only for the ones that sit on a shelf that you need to shine ’em up. The dark finish will naturally polish away over time and become shiny, with a low luster.
Right, I forget about the patina thing. I have a bronz, roman antquity that is heavily pantinized, the jeweler chastised me when I asked if he could clean it up. Have you ever considered a ring from antiquity? They’re rare to find in terms of finding the right size, they call them roman intaglio’s or carnelians (an inscribed stone that depicts the wearer or a roman god or some other type of esoteric symoblism) I’ve never seen a skull though. See: This is where I got my good gold ring. http://www.edgarlowen.com , though I’d have to say that the price for good rings has doubled over the past ten years unfortunately.
I got mine today (06-11-12)!!! Love it. Thanks for the blog. I now have the next few rings I want already planned out. Its cool to see other people that like and understand the same as me. Pretty cool guys.