Wire Wrapped Solitaire Ring

This is an extension of my 'ible on mounting gemstones, in this case I'll show you how to make a ring with a stone as the centerpiece.

Step 1 Materials

You will need:

- an already set gemstone with a foot or so of wire attached (I like to just work off of the spool, that way I waste very little wire.)
- a ring mandrel or any round object the size of the ring you wanna make
- *chain nose pliers
- *wire cutters
- *fine toothed files or sandpaper
- *0000 steel wool

*not pictured

Comments

[Penolopy Bulnick]

So beautiful! Love the detail!

[gg1220]

Thank you! The best part is that they're so easy to make :)

[quatch]

You can use clear packing tape to take off lint.

How does the loose end do on getting stuck on things like hair? What gauge is the finest you can get away without soldering?

[gg1220]

Great idea, thanks!

I don't think I've had any problems with the loose end getting stuck on things, I guess it's just a matter of how small you can get the gap between the end and the piece of wire below it. If the gap is smaller than a piece of hair, the hair can't get caught.

I haven't tried anything smaller than 20 gauge (just a personal preference I guess), but the main consideration is the gaps between the pieces of wire. They're what determine how safely your stone can be mounted. In terms of the shank of the ring and what will hold up, there are plenty of wire wrapped ring tutorials that use 24, 28 gauge wire with no problems. I don't know what you have in mind, but it can't hurt to try :)