One of a kind: jewelers created a space ring from "souvenirs" from the Moon itself (3 photos + 1 video)

Customer John Mesick caught the parts for his jewelry at auctions. The jeweler noted that the piece was the most valuable of all that his team had created.





The jewelry was created by the craftsmen of Honest Hands Ring Co. at the request of John Mesick. One of the design elements was a strip of gold thermal polyamide tape, which in 1969 made the first trip of astronauts to the moon. Another detail is a lunar meteorite.

"We've made thousands of rings before, but never with something this rare. This was the most stressful ring we've ever taken on," said jewelry company owner Ben Bonsworth.

The customer was a planning manager at Lockheed Martin, an astronomy company that is one of the prime contractors for NASA's Artemis program. It supplies the Orion spacecraft, which is planned to land astronauts on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

The gold band that flew to the moon was purchased at auction. Mesik said that he doesn't need that much material for an engagement ring, so he plans to use the rest to decorate his home.



The Apollo 11 spacecraft consisted of a command module called Columbia and a lunar module called Eagle. Columbia was covered in an aluminum laminate, with the outside ribbon being silver to reflect the sun's rays. Underneath that was a gold layer that deflected radiation. Both layers helped regulate temperature during the trip to the moon and back.

When Columbia returned to Earth, the intense heat caused some of the ribbon to burn off. When the craft hit the ocean, some of the coating peeled off and became an easy target for crew members looking to take home a souvenir of the adventure.



The moon rocks collected by astronauts are national treasures, so they are not available to anyone. However, there are other pieces of the moon that fell to Earth as meteorites, which can be legally purchased. The meteorite that Mesik bought landed in Algeria in 2022.

"It all comes down to this moment, where we are getting ready to cut off a piece of NASA and American history. I think this is by far the most valuable thing that has been cut before," Bonsworth said.

Denver 7 noted that the Honest Hands Ring Co. team is only three people. They specialize in custom rings for clients around the world that contain important items and memorabilia. In particular, the jewelers have previously integrated a vinyl record, a dog tag, and even field dirt from a baseball game into jewelry.

Bonsworth started the business in his garage in early 2018. As sales grew, the team needed a separate space.

Mesick said that he waited for months for an auction that would allow him to get a piece of Apollo 11. He admits that he "overpaid a little," but believes the result was worth it.

According to media reports, Mesick dreamed of becoming an astronaut as a child, but ultimately chose a more traditional path - engineering. He was able to connect himself with his desired field, albeit without traveling into space.

Bonsworth said that the ring was designed for weeks, and it took only 4-5 days to create it.