Since my day job is making jewelry I figured I'd show a few engagement rings I've made. These are entirely hand made from Platinum.
The first ring was an especially challenging job as the opening in the the side of the ring is only 8mm wide. The vine sections are made from fourteen separate Platinum pieces. Platinum wire that is .07mm thick (about .003 inch) is used for the vines and the leaves were cut from Platinum sheet, hand engraved and welded to the vine sections. The assembled vine sections were then inserted into the 8mm wide opening and then welded into place from the back side. It's a very small ring- to put in in perspective the side stones on the top of the ring are 1mm in diameter.
The next two rings are entirely made from Platinum sheet and wire- no castings were used and there are over forty soldered joints in each ring. To make rings like these I start with the center head by forming the prongs and gallery wires, bending them to shape and joining them together. The prongs and gallery wires for the side stones are then added, paying close attention to the stone spacing. The ring shank is then hand forged, shaped and attached to the head assembly. The ring is then pre polished and the stones are set and then the detail work/hand engraving is done, followed by the final polish.
One of my happiest moments at work was when a woman picked up her custom ring and turned to her little girl and said "One day this will be yours."
The first ring was an especially challenging job as the opening in the the side of the ring is only 8mm wide. The vine sections are made from fourteen separate Platinum pieces. Platinum wire that is .07mm thick (about .003 inch) is used for the vines and the leaves were cut from Platinum sheet, hand engraved and welded to the vine sections. The assembled vine sections were then inserted into the 8mm wide opening and then welded into place from the back side. It's a very small ring- to put in in perspective the side stones on the top of the ring are 1mm in diameter.
The next two rings are entirely made from Platinum sheet and wire- no castings were used and there are over forty soldered joints in each ring. To make rings like these I start with the center head by forming the prongs and gallery wires, bending them to shape and joining them together. The prongs and gallery wires for the side stones are then added, paying close attention to the stone spacing. The ring shank is then hand forged, shaped and attached to the head assembly. The ring is then pre polished and the stones are set and then the detail work/hand engraving is done, followed by the final polish.
One of my happiest moments at work was when a woman picked up her custom ring and turned to her little girl and said "One day this will be yours."
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Inexpensive-Homemade-4-Band-Puzzle-Ring/
http://www.powerwerx.com/wiregauge.asp
Half hard wire is fine.
The other is about soldering: what sort of gas torch would you recommend for a beginner, and where can you get your soldering supplies?
Your work is brilliant, and somthing I would like to do. Thank you also for the amazon links, though the "concepts and techniques" is an eye-watering 100 bucks :) I don't think I'm anywhere near good enough to get this sort of book yet. I'm still playing with wire wrapping!
Cheers,
Daniel
Thanks for the kind words!
The smaller stones around the edges are set using small beads of metal. First a hole is made to fit the stone (called a seat) and then the metal is cut away around the hole leaving small metal prongs (called bright cutting.) The stone is then inserted into the hole and the metal is pushed over the stone using a beading tool. A beading tool is basically a round tool with a pointed end that has a cupped shape on the tip. When you force the metal over the stone with this tool it leaves a rounded bead of metal that holds the stone in place. You often then have to go back with a sharp tool called a graver to clean up any excess metal around the beads.
The gas torch I use is called a Hoke torch. I've been using the same torch for nearly fifteen years and it works for all precious metals as well as brass and copper. I use a mix of Oxygen and natural gas but you can also use Oxygen and Propane. You can get one here-
http://www.ottofrei.com/Hoke-Jewel-Torch-With-3-Tips-For-Oxygen-and-Natural-Gas.html
Otto Frei also sells all the other tools and soldering supplies you would need.
One of the best sources for books is used book stores. There's lots of great jewelry books out there and many have been in print for a very long time.
If you have any other questions just let me know!
I've hopefully got a really neat custom job coming in the future that I'll be able to fully document for a step by step instructable. Usually my work schedule doesn't allow me to document the jewelry making process as the delivery timelines are so short but I've been pushing my boss to let me document more work for the future.
It would be cool if you could do a step by step. Meanwhile, your work is beautiful.
My favorite:
http://img.instructables.com/files/deriv/FXA/PXRH/GLWR1SSZ/FXAPXRHGLWR1SSZ.THUMB.jpg
Either the case, I just want to say, AWESOME WORK!