Tuesday 27 November 2007

Bespoke Platinum Engagement Ring - for Sue


OK. Just finished a platinum engagement ring. The client wanted a traditional princess claw set ring. Here is a step by step process of how it was made.

The first process was making a wax blank that had the maximum dimensions of her ring.






I found the center of the wax at the top and cut a seat for the diamond to sit in.You can see the princess diamond on the top.

You will also be able to see faint lines on the front of the wax. This denotes the shape of the ring.




The lines were used to cut away the wax. The area around the diamond is now being trimmed back and you can start to see the shape of the ring coming through.









Now I have got the overall shape right from the front, I need to refine the shape of ring shank. You can see from this shot, that I have marked out the width of the ring.

These lines will be used to cut back the shank.




The ring shank has been cut back and you can see that I have tapered the setting of the diamond.











The setting is further refined as the client wanted a claw setting.








Light holes are opened up through the shoulders of the ring and through the setting.








The finished model is then moulded using a special rubber compound. This photo shows the liquid rubber up to the half way mark within the mould.

This liquid rubber, sets quite firm. The wax model then has to be cut out, using a sharp knife.



Here is the resulting rubber block. the model of the ring is encased within this block and is released using a very sharp knife.

This is part of the "Lost Wax Casting " process which I will not bore you with.





Here is the finished platinum ring. A perfect copy from the model that I created.

Made especially for Sue.

10 comments:

pinkmilk said...

Lucky Sue, beautiful. How long did it take?

CastoCreations said...

Um...can I just say...HOLY CRAP!

I envy folks who are able to do this kind of work. Maybe one day I'll be able to do something similar. In my dreams maybe. :)

Sarah Ridgley said...

wow, that's so amazing. i love your stud earrings. I'm always searching for studs or short earrings on etsy. it seems like everyone makes these shoulder scrapers, so I really appreciate it when I find a seller like you!!

Amanda aka MamaRobot said...

Amazing. And so interesting.

Mary Ann said...

Very interesting. I always wondered how that was done. Sue is a lucky girl.

Artist: Meg Stearns said...

Absolutely gorgeous! I have no idea how you learned to do that, but its wonderful! How talented you are! Thanks for posting.

pk fairaday said...

That is so gorgeous! What an art form!

Vintage Blue Studio said...

That is very cool. I'd always wondered how that was done. Thank you for sharing that. You made a wonderful ring!

Diana

mister mooch said...

Love how you took your readers through the process step by step, very easy to understand. And the finished product... stunning!

Vintage Tracy said...

I want that ring! Beautiful!