Upgraded.

This project has a special place in my heart. A ring was shipped to me to have a stone replaced. This was a ring that I made back in Memphis, Tennessee when I was in school, it should be noted that I did not set the stone that fell out :). It was the first engagement ring I ever made and it was for some very good friends of mine. Unfortunately after I replaced the missing stone, the post office lost the ring when it was en route back to the wearer. It was insured but the customer wanted to upgrade the ring a little for his wife. Here's how the upgraded ring was made.

Cad models illustrate the differences in diamond sizes. The design on the far left is what the original ring had looked like. It was a very simple band, made in 18k gold, that had three diamonds flush set into the band. The new ring is going to have larger diamonds and a different design to the band.



3d models are a great communication tool for jewelry design. There are many problems that can occur when there is not good communication between the customer and the jeweler.

The ring starts off as a wax tube, a piece large enough to accommodate the design is cut off from a main block.

The inside of the wax ring is made to fit the customer's finger size.

Here the wax is measured against the actual stone to ensure there will be enough material to safely set the stone.

The design is then laid out onto the wax blank. The additional wax will now be removed.

A coarse file is used to quickly carve away the unwanted wax.

At this point most of the wax has been carved away and it's time to cut the settings for the diamonds.

The diamonds are measured against the wax and steel burs, which are in the back groun, and used to cut seats for the diamonds to sit in.

Here the diamonds are sitting nice and snug in their seats.

The rest of the wax is removed using a finer file and the shape of the ring is refined at this point to its final shape.

Now we're talking ring.









A few close ups of the final wax. The wax will now be cast in gold using a process call lost wax casting. The green wax will be melted away and replaced by 18k gold through a process of encasing the wax in a ceramic shell, melting away the wax and then pouring molten gold into the empty cavity.

This is what the ring looks like after it has been cast in 18k gold.

The sprue or tube that allowed the molten gold fill the casting is removed with a jeweler's saw.



The casting is then cleaned using a variety of abrasive wheels and sand papers.

Here the seats are cleaned up and cut to the exact sizes of the diamonds that are to be set in them.

A steel setting tool is used to push the gold over just enough of the diamond's edge or "girdle" to hold it in place.

A sand blaster is used to add some texture onto certain parts of the ring.

Other parts of the ring are brought back up to a high polish.

Shazam! Ring upgraded.



Thankfully this ring was not lost during the journey back and the then fiance-to-be, now wife and mother, was very pleased with her new engagement ring. Miss you guys.