Category Archives: CAR JEWELRY

Speed, Style, and Symbolism: Mercury in Myth, Muscle Cars, and Jewelry

Yesterday, I came across a striking bronze statue of Mercury, the Roman god of speed, communication, and travelers. The sculpture captures him mid-flight, balanced on one foot, wings sprouting from his helmet and sandals, and his caduceus (staff entwined with serpents) in hand. What’s fascinating is the base: Mercury’s delicate foot rests on the head of Aeolus, the god of wind, symbolizing how the very air propels him forward. This detail adds depth—reminding us that true speed comes not from force, but from harnessing energy with elegance and balance.

At Hi Octane Jewelry, this imagery feels close to home. Mercury’s legacy carried into the automotive world with the Mercury muscle cars of the mid-20th century. The Lead Sled Mercury, especially, became an icon of customization—chopped, lowered, and streamlined until it seemed to float across the highway. Much like the Roman god’s effortless flight, the Mercury Lead Sled embodied sleekness, rebellion, and motion. Both statue and car speak the same language: freedom, individuality, and power refined into art.

The connection between mythology, classic cars, and handcrafted jewelry is stronger than you might think. Mercury—known as Hermes in Greek myth—was a messenger, a boundary-crosser who moved between worlds. The Mercury automobiles carried that same spirit, bridging everyday driving with high-powered style. At Hi Octane Jewelry, we bring this spirit to life in our automotive-themed jewelry—muscle car grill rings, Mercury-inspired bracelets, and custom designs that fuse vintage car culture with wearable art. Just as Mercury soared on the winds, our pieces are designed to move with you, turning horsepower and history into personal style.

Looking closer at Mercury’s base—the god of wind himself—it’s a reminder that craftsmanship is about flow, not brute strength. That’s how we approach every piece we make. Whether it’s a sterling silver muscle car ring or a custom bracelet inspired by vintage automotive details, our work celebrates that intersection of speed, artistry, and freedom. Like Mercury rising from Aeolus or a Lead Sled gliding down a sunlit highway, Hi Octane Jewelry pieces are built to tell a story of movement and style.

Mercury isn’t just a myth or a car badge—he’s a timeless emblem of transformation, energy, and individuality. Whether cast in bronze, cruising the streets as a custom Lead Sled, or reimagined in sterling silver and automotive jewelry, Mercury continues to inspire us to move boldly forward—with speed, with style, and always with an edge.

Hot Rod Magazine Features Hi Octane Jewelry Car Rings

I was delighted to hear from one of our customers that the new Hot Rod Magazine is out and our jewelry is featured in it. Hot Rod magazine has done a great job putting together some Gearhead Accessories gift ideas together for the 2012 Holiday Season.

Hot-rod-mag

Our jewelry is featured amongst the likes of Mickey Thompson Tire Tread I-phone Cases and Flatheads Forever belt buckles. Big Thank you going out to Hot Rod Magazine for featuring our car rings jewelry.  One of the rings featured is a sneak peek at one of our new designs which is a Wrench V8 Ring.  Which feature two wrenches crossed creating a V with a number 8 on top.  All of which is set into a signet ring.

Elle Fashion Trend – Car Show put the pedal to the metal auto-inspired accessories

Hi Octane Jewelry Featured in Elle Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today has been a wonderful day.  We are having a wonderful snow day in the Pacific Northwest.  I popped over to Target this evening and was delighted to see the that our line of Hi Octane Jewelry is featured in Elle Magazine’s February 2012 issue.  Elle is featuring our 57 Chevy look car ring. And doesn’t Reese Witherspoon look fabulous too.

 

 

Custom Wedding Rings

My ultra-hip cousin and her fiance are getting married this summer up on a grassy bluff overlooking Puget Sound at Fort Worden Sate Park in Washington state.  I have had the pleasure of gathering ideas, sharing ideas and enjoying the wedding planning process with her.  My cousin Lace works for Washington Trails Association.  So I would say she is in touch with nature.  She does things like rock climb, biking and mountain trekking.  She travels to far away places like the Palawan in the Philippines and Central Mexico.  She is much more well traveled than I.  Her fiance looks through lens all day at amazing architecture and captures it just right. I am pretty sure they are on their way to sweet-ful bliss.

Brad and I got the opportunity to create wedding bands for this wonderful couple.  I thought with these two people who are out playing in nature and really are a clear example of outdoors-man and woman.  Their ring should capture that spirit.  So I took off away from my computer to find nature.  Tree bark was on my mind.  Well, in coastal southern California land of a thousand palm trees my hunt for a tree with some cool bark brought me to a place I like to take small hikes around with my kids.  It is called Hospital Grove Park it is Carlsbad, CA.  It has a bluff that overlooks Buena Vista Lagoon, which is Spanish for “good view,” the Buena Vista Lagoon lives up to its name with scenic views of the ocean and notoriously good bird watching.  It has tons of Eucalyptus trees which have many pieces of bark literally falling all over the place.

I rounded up a few pieces with texture and different degrees of texture.
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I sent Lace a few pics of the bark to get her thoughts.  She said she always gravitates toward simple bands. So I decided. We should not get to crazy here with bark, maybe keep most of the band smooth but with a touch of bark.

If you are wondering how we go from bark to wax.  We actually seal the bark slightly and then create mold around it of RTV molding compound. The RTV mold picks up the details of the bark incredibly well.  We then pour wax into the mold and pull out wax bark.  We then create sized wax ring shanks and apply the wax bark to them.  Here the rings are, ready for casting.  We will then invest them and cast them.

Bark Wedding Bands in Wax

When they are complete I will post more photos.

Revamped our web site for Hot Rod Jewelry for Gearheads….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on over and check out our newly designed and organized web site. We have moved our blog over here to just click the link for the blog.

 

 

>We have over 25 car ring designs on our site now.

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Did you know that now you can order over 25 different car ring designs on our site now. We have more than 13 new designs just in time for Christmas. Such as a 1953 Cadillac ring, a 1955 Chevy ring, a 1955 T-Bird ring, a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado ring, a 1961 Ford Galaxie ring, a 1963 Chevy Impala ring, 1964 Ford Mustang ring, a 1967 Pontiac GTO ring, a 1969 Chevy Camaro ring, a 1970 TransAm ring, a 1954 Chevy Del Ray ring, a 1955 Desoto FireDome ring, a 1960’s VW Bug ring and a 1960’s VW Microbus ring. Check out Hi Octane Jewelry for all your Hot Rod Jewelry and Motorhead Jewelry. Additionally I am working on putting some our new car bracelets on our site. We also have a new Motorheart pendant. All of new rings would make great gifts for hubby or dad this Christmas.

Some rings in the works are the 64 Impala, a Cobra, Chevy Truck, and a Pontiac Indian Head…..
Check our site and get you order in now for Christmas. Become a fan of our facebook age to click the link on the right side of the blog page.

>Porsche 356 B Bracelets | Hi Octane Jewelry

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We just finished these ultra cool 356 Porsche bracelets for my mom Candace and her friend Jill. Both the women are Porsche enthusiasts and both own 356 Porsches, although their husbands might argue with them over who really own the 356’s.

Candace has been encouraging us to make these bracelets for quite sometime and we were finally able to get them into production. We are so happy with the way they turned out. These classic car bracelets are a real conversation piece. I can’t wait to hear about all the chatter they stir-up and the next car club event.

>Father’s Day at Pomona Roadster Show

>Join us this weekend in Pomona at the Largest Roadster Show. Hi Octane Jewelry will have all their new car rings and bracelets at the show. We have tons of cool recycled car part necklaces too… Get Dad some Hot Rod Jewelry for Father’s Day. I am going to hit the swapmeet Saturday morning and see what treasure I can score.