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| HOME : FORUM : EDUCATION : JEWELRY : Jewelry Design : Trying to make the perfect ring |
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Trying to make the perfect ring
Post#1 @
11-29-10
, 02:27 PM
Hello Everyone, I have been working on trying to make my girlfriend the perfect engagement ring. I was hoping I could get some feedback on how to do it. First off lets start with the band and setting. Ideally it would be full micro-pave (as in the picture below) and about 1.5mm in width. I have found the perfect band, but I can't seem to figure out how the diamond is set in the picture. Here is the band: Link Now how could I make that band attach to the setting like in the attached image? I've been talking to a rep at James Allen and he says it must be done with a bridge. I want to know if it is possible to attach the band to the setting (like it looks like in the attached picture) without the use of a bridge. Thank you for any and all help! |
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Re: Trying to make the perfect ring
Post#2 @
11-29-10
, 04:47 PM
These bands are easy to make and they attach to the basket holding the stone by "splitting" the band and having one end attach to the base of the basket and one end attach to the upper rail of the basket. If you don't do this you have very little resistance to bending the band as pressure is placed on the basket from one side. If you look at the image you've shown you can just see the split in the reflection of the band/basket junction. |
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Re: Trying to make the perfect ring
Post#3 @
11-29-10
, 04:53 PM
Quote:
Ah, I didn't see that before. That answers my question, but I guess my next question would be how thin can that split be? Ideally it would hardly be noticable, but naturally I don't want to compromise the structral integrity of the whole ring. I might have to go back to the drawing board and see if I'd rather just have the setting on top of the band. |
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Re: Trying to make the perfect ring
Post#4 @
11-29-10
, 05:05 PM
Quote:
The split can be fairly short, but it must be wide enough to go from the bottom rail on the basket to the top rail. Depending on the stone size, (and therefore basket size), this could be quite noticeable from the front and back. One other option is to make the band so that the ends flare to catch those rails. You don't say how large the stone is, but if it is fairly large the problem becomes one of trying to keep the stone/basket from twisting relative to the band. With big stones and small bands it's a very tough problem. Cutting countersinks into the band for all those little diamonds makes the band that much weaker and necessitates making the band thicker so that it will have adequate stiffness, (even then she'll still need to be careful with it). Putting a basket on top of a band works alright if the band is wide, but if the band is as narrow as this is, putting the basket on top doesn't fix anything as that narrow band can still be easily twisted. You might consider using a narrow, but thick, (from the surface of the finger out), band and the placing a short piece of gold in between the rails to which the ends of the band can attach. This way the band will not change dimensions and all you'll see is the short piece of the material added between the rails of the basket. If this is as clear as mud, let me know and I'll draw a sketch. |
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Re: Trying to make the perfect ring
Post#5 @
11-29-10
, 05:14 PM
If it isn't too much trouble a sketch would be great! I want an emerald cut between 1.5 and 2 carats, so nothing huge. If I were to bump up the width to say 1.7mm would it make a difference such as not needing to worry about the strength of the band? My girlfriend loves simplicity, and the simpler the ring the better. Basically any added thickness (as you described from finger out) isn't ideal, and neither is any added width. I think I might be able to get away with 1.7mm though  Thanks for all of your help Michael! |
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Re: Trying to make the perfect ring
Post#6 @
12-01-10
, 11:41 AM
Quote:
Sorry for the delay in answering, 'tis the season for all of us elves to be going nuts. back to your question, yes going to 1.7mm would make a difference, but I think that you'd be better off staying at 1.5mm and going thicker, to maybe 1.6 - 1.7mm at least at the base of the head. Will this be a custom ring? It sounds like it and if so I would suggest making the head so that it tapers more sharply than a commercially made head...I'll post a sketch a little later today. |
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Re: Trying to make the perfect ring
Post#7 @
12-01-10
, 12:17 PM
Quote:
Thanks for all of your help! Take care of what you need to do, as this isn't too time sensitive, I'll probably be looking to make a final decision by early 2011. I look forward to your sketch! |
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Re: Trying to make the perfect ring
Since you had expressed a desire for the band to be thin and simple, I've made this model as thin and simple as is practical. The band is 1.4mm wide and 1.65mm deep all the way around. The head is integral with the band and has no rails. The prongs are curved, are basically 1mm square in cross section at the corners of the gem and stay that same 1mm wide all the way into the band. The prongs do however get thicker as the curve down into the band and are the full 1.65mm thickness at their juncture with the band. This allows the diamonds to be set in the band right up and a bit under the center stone. It allows you to see the diamond from all sides and has adequate thickness and strength to provide good security for the diamond. This also give the thinnest band possible for a ring which may be worn daily. The center stone is shown in the 1.7 to 2 carat range, the small diamonds are 1 point each and the ring size is about 6. The odd colored, magnified image is a screen grab showing the junction between the prongs and band, (I think that I'd probably make the intersection filleted and a bit more fluid looking), and the rendering has a sapphire in the background which is a new design, (sorry, I just had to see what it was going to look like). If you prefer the look of a traditional basket, I would still suggest that you go with one which is very tapered and so has very short stiff rails between the prongs, as this would make the whole affair much stiffer. What do you think? |
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Last edited by Michael_E : 12-01-10 at 05:37 PM.
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