Sunday, December 30, 2012

Amazing Mechanical Ring Box With Hidden Compartment

There seems to be an unspoken competition online these days to make the best engagement ring box, and I for one couldn't be happier about it. From a miniature version of the house from UP to last week's geektastic TARDIS, these custom boxes never fail to make me all squeaky with glee.
 
There's just something about secret compartments, am I right? That little "A-ha!" moment of surprise - and combine that a dash of geekery and a dollop of romance, and, WELL. 

Which brings me to the most amazing, labor-intensive, and gear-filled ring box yet.

On the outside, Reddit user curtisabrina's creation appears to be a simple jewelry box: 



Open the lid, and you'll find a typical - albeit lovely - jewelry tray:

Those two brass heart keys fit together to form a single key, which Curtis gave to his sweetie a full seven months before giving her this jewelry box to propose. (Talk about a long-term planner!)


Now, the real magic starts when you lift up the jewelry tray. 

Hidden underneath:


GREAT GRINDING GEARS, BATMAN!

 Curtis designed and machined every piece of this himself, by the way, estimating he spent over 200 hours on the box's creation.

So, where's the actual engagement ring box? Well, insert the double heart key:

Give it a twist, and the iris on the left opens...

...revealing yet another custom box with a heart insert and laser engraving. 

Oh, and the engagement ring. ;)

Simply amazing.

There are lots more pics and details over on Curtis' Imgur gallery, including one more custom box he built to house the heart keys, so definitely go check those out!

15 comments:

  1. Absolutely amazing and utterly romantic! I would love a box like this! Neither my man or I are craftspeople (although I am learning to sew) but I would love to have one made by someone else one day! It's a work of art!

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  2. Incredible - beautiful and romantic. I have no idea how he machined all of those parts.

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  3. Don't get me wrong - the box is amazing, but I'd love to see you, Jen, steampunk it up a bit on the outside;)

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  4. o.o That is the most wonderful and amazing box for an engagement ring ever.

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  5. If this guy's marriage doesn't work out, he can give me a call. :)

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  6. Oh my word, that is amazing! And I want one.

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  7. I actually gasped aloud. The ingenuity, the romance, the cunning of it all! Congratulations to Curtis and his sweetie. May they have a long and happy marriage!

    When Mr. Haiku proposed to me, he carved out a ring-box shaped hole (complete with finger grooves) in a huge hardback thesaurus. Then he wrapped it and put it as a Christmas present under my family's tree. When I opened it in front of family, I was the only one who didn't know I was about to be proposed to!

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  8. So, I'm pretty sure the box trumps the ring. He machined it himself?? and designed it??? What a stud! o.O

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  9. Amazing. Just... amazing.
    Though I think I would go insane with curiosity if I had a key to nothing for 7 months. Or I'd lose the key!

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  10. LUV LUV LUV the engagement box! His love is sure for his gal putting so much time & effort into designing & making it.

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  11. Is there anyway I could get the blueprints for the box, I will gladly be happy to pay for the blueprints if I have to, thanks.

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  12. you should go in to mass production. I know I would buy it..is there anyway you sell these or if you do sell them how do I purchase one?

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  13. Any way I can pay you to make me one? Seriously

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry, but I'm not the one who made the box. If you read the post you'll see I credit the creator and link to his Reddit post - you should inquire there!

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