Ultimate Collectors' Forums

I'm Turin.

Ouch.

[quote=""Valkrist""]I'm Turin.

Ouch.[/quote]

That's very telling!

Well, strangely enough, I came out as Beren ...but maybe not so strange as I own and wear the Ring of Barahir.

[quote=""Olorin""]....
I think I liked it better when I did the HP Lovecraft quiz and determined that I was Cthulhu![/quote]

Cthulhu!!! *shudder*....stayin' far a way from you!

Deimos- I got Beren as well! Not only that- but I'm also wearing my Ring of Barahir right now!

[quote=""jnicktem""]Deimos- I got Beren as well! Not only that- but I'm also wearing my Ring of Barahir right now![/quote]

Honored to be in your company!

Likewise!

My results , I am Turin .

Hey Deimos- do you have a picture of your Ring of Barahir? I know Jens Hansen makes a few variations.

[quote=""Deimos""]Cthulhu!!! *shudder*....stayin' far a way from you![/quote]

I am Cthulhu! I must be obeyed! Or I will rise from my deathlike slumber in my non-Euclidean-geometry city beneath the Pacific Ocean and lay waste to your world!

[quote=""jnicktem""]Hey Deimos- do you have a picture of your Ring of Barahir? I know Jens Hansen makes a few variations.[/quote]

Here a two pics...not very good.
The ring was flipped around to be able to take a pic of it

These are the only pics I will post right now because I promised Nerdanel I would post pics of both Barahir and Vilya when I could get some shots in better light (to show them off!)
And even though you can see a sliver of Vilya, I don't wear them at the same time... (just this time for the pics)

I got the 18 Kt Au and the palladium (for the "silver").
I didn't want sterling Ag because it tarnishes, and white Au was both cost prohibitive and high maintenance too.
White Au has to be replated as the rhodium wears off and it starts to look yellowish (the gold showing thru).

i came out Earendil.

Well, that's interesting. I'm Luthien. Come on, I only said one thing about love the whole quiz, and the rest were about killing orcs! It must have been because I picked an enchanted hound for a pet.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Well, that's interesting. I'm Luthien. Come on, I only said one thing about love the whole quiz, and the rest were about killing orcs! It must have been because I picked an enchanted hound for a pet. [/quote]

No, it can't be the hound because I also chose the enchanted hound, and I'm Beren.

[quote=""Thranduil""]i came out Earendil.[/quote]

I am also Earendil

Deimos, fantastic! It looks a lot like mine- although on mine the snakes don't have emeralds for eyes.

One day I would like to upgrade my One Ring to the 18kt gold version, and I would also like to get their interpretation of Narya.

[quote=""jnicktem""]Deimos, fantastic! It looks a lot like mine- although on mine the snakes don't have emeralds for eyes.

One day I would like to upgrade my One Ring to the 18kt gold version, and I would also like to get their interpretation of Narya.[/quote]

Thank you! I am very pleased with all my JH rings.

I know that several forum members have the JH ONE Ring in 18 kt Au and could not be happier.

I also like the JH Narya , but if I get that then I'd have to get their Nenya as well... and then my credit card would have a hissy fit!

I know just what you mean. Plus Halfdan and his team have been great to work with! In face I had them create my wife's wedding band and engagement rings! They did an amazing job!!!

Here is my One Ring and Ring of Barahir from JH:



My One Ring is their 9kt gold version- it was the most that I could afford since most of my money went into my wife's rings! Although one day I would like to replace it with the 18kt version since it will be more hard-wearing.

[quote=""jnicktem""]Here is my One Ring and Ring of Barahir from JH:
[/quote]

Very nice! Your Barahir ring reminds me of the Noble version, where the snakes did not have emerald eyes either.
In fact several people have told me mine is inaccurate for that reason.
It may be screen innacurate, but it is definitely book accurate.


[quote=""jnicktem""]My One Ring is their 9kt gold version- it was the most that I could afford since most of my money went into my wife's rings! Although one day I would like to replace it with the 18kt version since it will be more hard-wearing.[/quote]

Not to be contrary .....but the 18kt ring will actually be softer than your present one because it will have a higher percentage of gold in it.
What makes the 18kt version better than the the 9kt one (other than being more valuable) is that it will be much yellower, have a richer and more golden look.

The 9kt one has a higher percentage of other, harder metals in it.
Men's rings are typically made with (or alloyed with) harder metals because they hold up better to the abuse and wear-and-tear so many men subject their hands to. But the alloys also make the ring a paler gold.

I had an 18kt ring once that looked new after bring worn for a couple of generations. No polishing or cleaning was done to it. Just worn. My 9kt ring picks up every scratch and knick possible and I am careful with it. Perhaps the 18kt just doesn't show it as well because it's a richer and deeper color?

[quote=""jnicktem""]I had an 18kt ring once that looked new after bring worn for a couple of generations. No polishing or cleaning was done to it. Just worn. My 9kt ring picks up every scratch and knick possible and I am careful with it. Perhaps the 18kt just doesn't show it as well because it's a richer and deeper color?[/quote]

More likely -- precisely because that heirloom ring is [relatively] soft -- is that over many years the surface scratches were "polished out" by being worn away from friction, the constant rubbing of the ring against other surfaces.
And pure gold itself never needs polishing because it doesn't oxidize or corrode -- no acids will affect it, only aqua regia will dissolve it.
But it can (and does) get dull from dirt and body oils and grime and so requires periodic cleaning.

Your 9kt more heavily alloyed ring (18 kt is still an alloy...only 24kt Au is 100% pure gold, and you can [I've heard] dent it with a fingernail) is harder than many materials, but not impervious, and so "holds" scratches, which can only be polished out using the types of polishing agents or machines typically found at a jewelers.

Think of what several members (including myself) have said about their preference for Indy's much less detailed Smaug coins over the highly detailed Weta coins, that the worn images are more realistic and to be e xp ected on gold coins that have been around for hundreds of years, rubbing and banging against other gold coins and very hard "jools" .

Go here to see how different metals are rated on the Moh hardness scale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale ... l_hardness

Gold is listed (of course) but then look for the other metals that make up your 9kt ring...all are harder than gold.

[quote=""Deimos""]Think of what several members (including myself) have said about their preference for Indy's much less detailed Smaug coins over the highly detailed Weta coins, that the worn images are more realistic and to be e xp ected on gold coins that have been around for hundred of years, rubbing and banging against other gold coins and very hard "jools" .[/quote]
This is what I thought of when I read "jools"

Interesting- thank you for the information Deimos! Does anyone have an 18kt version that has been worn for a long time? I'm interested in hearing how it has been holding up.

[quote=""Jamanticus""]This is what I thought of when I read "jools"

[/quote]

HAHAHA....never saw that before.
I have to admit that when i first saw "jools" reading FOTR I just started laughing....one of the more clever "rustic" (phonetic) spellings I had seen.

Wow....did this thread ever get hijacked! (Mea maxima culpa!)

So Jamanticus, did you take the "what Sil character are you" quiz?

I'm curious as to what you're really like!

[quote=""jnicktem""]Interesting- thank you for the information Deimos! Does anyone have an 18kt version that has been worn for a long time? I'm interested in hearing how it has been holding up.[/quote]

jnick...am sending you a pm so as not to re-hijack this thread.

Whoooops, right you are!

In keeping with the topic of this thread- if you had the choice, which race of Middle Earth would you belong to?

[quote=""jnicktem""]Whoooops, right you are!

In keeping with the topic of this thread- if you had the choice, which race of Middle Earth would you belong to?[/quote]

Oh jnick, that is so, like, yesterday (jk)

Actually Lindir submitted that very question as a poll several years ago.
I don't know if it is closed now, or if one can still respond to it.

I'm new here so you're going to have to forgive me

I don't see myself reading all 98 pages of this thread to get caught up! Haha

[quote=""Deimos""]Wow....did this thread ever get hijacked! (Mea maxima culpa!)

So Jamanticus, did you take the "what Sil character are you" quiz?

I'm curious as to what you're really like! [/quote]
I got Eärendil, pretty sure only because of the blond hair and blue eyes

And those JH rings are absolutely awe-inspiring, Deimos and jnicktem!

To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the design when I saw Barahir's ring on JH's website. My opinion has now changed seeing them on actual hands

I'll post this here, even though it deals in significant part with The Hobbit movies, because it also deals with Middle-earth in general, plus a lot of other topics. In any event, here's a pretty decent interview with Peter Jackson from Deadline Hollywood.

http://deadline.com/2014/07/peter-jacks ... es-810912/

Has anyone ever seen this artist before? His work is really unique, it's a medieval style Middle Earth. http://www.jaystolkien.com/index.php

Thanks for sharing, Val. I think I'm going to pick up a print of this: http://www.jaystolkien.com/product.php?Pid=247

CJRT just turned 90. This is a good opportunity to reflect on the enormous debt we owe him for bringing us the bulk of his father's works. Without Chris's editorship and scholarship there would be no Silmarillion, no Unfinished Tales, no History of Middle-earth, and none of the other books that have come out more recently.

Wow, so close to sharing the same Birthday as CT! Wouldn't that be something!

We as Middle Earth fans, have a lot to be thankful for from CJRT, but I am still bitter that he won't give someone theme park rights so we can have Middle Earth Land!

[quote=""BladeCollector""]We as Middle Earth fans, have a lot to be thankful for from CJRT, but I am still bitter that he won't give someone theme park rights so we can have Middle Earth Land![/quote]

Pax to you, BC, but honestly, I'm pretty Thankful (nod to Olorin's post about what to be Thankful for) that there isn't a ME theme park, and I hope there never will be ....or if there is one, that I'll be dead by the time it's built.

I can envision it and if done correctly it could be such an immersive e xp erience. The good thing about theme parks, is you don't ever have to go to them if you dont want.

I remember going to Islands of Adventure and the Jurassic Park island was so awesome, everything was just perfect for me. Even the dinosaurs were about as "real" as you could get!

Everything you ever wanted to know about Middle-earth cosmology, in 4 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxgsxaFWWHQ

This one is funnier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXxU01IgoxU

I saw that one too. The funniest part was his quip at the end about keeping it to yourself if you know how to pronounce the names. He does slaughter them pretty badly!

Both were very amusing, but I agree with Kit the second one was funnier.
My personal funniest was when he tells about the elves going to get the Silmarils or die trying, they do, die trying.

Anyway, thanks guys always good to laugh

Wasn't sure where to put this...so please feel free to move it if need be

But i remembered quite a few here are cat lovers. Have you guys seen this???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X3WnHO ... e=youtu.be

[quote=""Jash""]Wasn't sure where to put this...so please feel free to move it if need be

But i remembered quite a few here are cat lovers. Have you guys seen this???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X3WnHO ... e=youtu.be[/quote]

LOL, yes, I've seen that; it's pretty out of this world. I think we posted this once before in the cat box, er, chat box, but certainly this thread is as an appropriate home for it as anywhere else.

Oh wow, that is something else!

So right now I'm reading The Fellowship of the Ring again, albeit very slowly. I'm finding so many details that I missed or overlooked the first two times. The first time I read it, the movie was fresh in my mind, and although I was very into Tolkien lore at the time there were a lot of details that I think just didn't stick in my mind because I couldn't visualize them yet. However, this time, I'm just completely engrossed in the detail of the beginning of the book. The imagery that Tolkien evokes when describing the Shire, especially the parts we didn't see in the film (I'm currently in the Glade with Gildor and the Elves), is so rich and beautiful. There's so much more of The Shire to e xp lore in my mind that I never really realized. It's an amazing feeling to re-discover something you love in an art form and learn new things about it that you never knew existed.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]So right now I'm reading The Fellowship of the Ring again, albeit very slowly. I'm finding so many details that I missed or overlooked the first two times. The first time I read it, the movie was fresh in my mind, and although I was very into Tolkien lore at the time there were a lot of details that I think just didn't stick in my mind because I couldn't visualize them yet. However, this time, I'm just completely engrossed in the detail of the beginning of the book. The imagery that Tolkien evokes when describing the Shire, especially the parts we didn't see in the film (I'm currently in the Glade with Gildor and the Elves), is so rich and beautiful. There's so much more of The Shire to e xp lore in my mind that I never really realized. It's an amazing feeling to re-discover something you love in an art form and learn new things about it that you never knew existed. [/quote]

Are you talking about the scene after they meet the [sniffing] wraithe near Woody End? and the [sort of] party with the elves in the natural woodland hall with the arched trees and torches?
If so, omg, I love that chapter (or two) of the book.
I will pull it off the shelf just to read that part all by itself; have done that literally dozens of times. As you noted, it is so beautiful, almost supernaturally so.
Wait until you get to the chapters with Treebeard. I re-read those sections "stand-alone" as well.

Also, pay close attention to how JRRT describes twilight and the oncoming night, especially the stars "coming out". His descriptions are so often achingly beautiful.

The very same! It's hard to believe it all takes place in The Shire. It's so surreal. The second, third and fourth chapters of the book are just marvelous and full of wonder.

How I Defeated the Tolkien Estate
http://the-toast.net/2014/12/08/defeate ... en-estate/

I think this will probably be very cool when finished: http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2015/02 ... nd-melian/

Having just re-read The Silmarillion in an illustrated edition, good artwork definitely does add to one's appreciation of the book.