This is an idea I came up with for a man actually. Not this ring in particular, it was his wedding ring. He was a plumber, so not a very good carpenter. He use to keep missing the nail with his hammer and hit the knuckle of his ring finger, so many times that his knuckle size was about ten sizes bigger than his actual finger size, maybe more. I have been trying to find a method for holding the nail more simple and flexible than the use of the thumb and index finger when attempting such a task. I can’t. He must have been getting a blind man to hit the nail while he held it. It is so way off target, it’s the only explanation. He wanted to wear a ring but he also had to be able to take it off when working. Wearing it on another finger was not an option for his wedding ring. I offered a few options, the bangle type arrangement was the one he went for.
From that initial ring, the design pictured below (the hinge and catch) evolved and is the one I use almost exclusively. As you can see, it has developed into something really simple. It is just a three bar hinge joint and a snap catch. Yet, it has never failed. Even so, a few clients aren’t sure about its security and ask for an extra lock or safety catch. It does however make the catch more bulky and can interfere with the flow of the design of the ring. In its simplest form, it is quite minimal when the ring is closed. There is some science behind it (or maybe it’s just common sense) and there are a few rules to abide by for it to work effectively. I use this for anyone who has trouble with arthritis and can be adapted to almost any ring.
I am pretty proud to say that other jewellers have tried to copy it and can’t make it work, yet it IS almost as simple as it looks.
Hinged ring for difficult to fit fingers.
Details: In the above example, 18ct yellow gold hand-made ring, with box hinge and snap clasp, bezel settings containing green and blue Australian sapphires.
The Jewellers Studio 