Engraved Engagement Ring

Pretty simple to make, fiddly and time consuming to carve. The clients grand mother had a pair of diamonds, 1ct each, in a ring. It was broken down and each of her grand daughters was given one of the diamonds. The shoulder diamonds were an after thought. Unless circumstances make it unavoidable, I don’t like putting diamonds of the same shape but different eras together. In this case, the centre diamond is an old-brilliant cut from the 1920’s. To put it with a modern brilliant cut from post 1960 makes note of the combination. I sourced the old single cuts to go with the main diamond so as not to detract from it.

White gold and diamond, engraved engagement ring.

White gold and diamond, engraved engagement ring.

Details: 18ct white gold engagement ring. Main setting is bezel set 1ct old-cut with 3pt single-cut diamonds pressure set in the shoulders. Hand-made ring with engraved shoulders.

Hinged Ring – for the troubled finger.

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.

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.

Diamond Heart Pendant

One more for the road. It’s hard to get something I like in the theme area for this blog. Fiddling about takes up so much time…

This is a white gold pendant. Paved, as they say, with diamonds. They are 1pt diamonds and each has a diameter of 1.4mm, about 150 of them in a space 21mm wide and about the same high. It is about 5mm thick with a slightly domed cross-section. This didn’t take very long to make but it took daaayyysss to mark out, drill the holes, carve the claws and set the diamonds. This was a commissioned piece too. I went to the trouble of doing a drawing to scale and to size using CAD (computer aided design) with a rendering to give an almost photorealistic impression of the finished piece, all following the clients instructions. I had to be sure they were sure they knew what they were getting. Disappointingly, it was returned with no explanation, delivered by a third-party. I had posted it to the client in good faith without receiving payment, there wasn’t much I could do. I got the feeling that they wore it to a function and didn’t need it after that. It’s not the sort of thing that sells quickly, a puffy heart covered in diamonds, so I “gave” it away for the cost of materials to recover expenses. A big loss, but I did enjoy making it. A real challenge with all those little beads having to be carved out of a solid lump of gold.

White gold and diamond heart pendant.

White gold and diamond heart pendant.

Details: 9ct white gold hand-made heart-shaped pendant, claw set with over 150 1pt diamonds.

Art Deco Bangle

Another workshop piece while I learn the language of the blogger. This was for one of those customers who walks in with a pile of old jewellery and says “Make me something, anything. But, it has to be a bangle and old fashioned.” So you ask the question “How old fashioned? Fifties, twenties, 19th century…?” It soon turns out that they don’t want just anything. The diamonds were old cut and single cut so anything more modern than “art-deco” would not have suited – they can look a bit flat in contemporary design. Anything older than mid to late nineteenth century and the diamonds become too modern for the design. It’s either “art-nouveau” or “art-deco” to fit in with the materials supplied. This is the outcome, the first piece where I did everything, consult, design, manufacture and set.

Art Deco inspired gold and diamond bangle.

Art Deco inspired gold and diamond bangle.

Details: 9ct yellow gold and white gold handmade bangle. Old-cut and single-cut diamonds, pavé and bezel set with milligrain edging.

First post, an example of my work.

Just an example of what I do to whet your appetite. A commissioned piece, a “family ring” with a child’s name engraved, a blue diamond for a boy and some incomplete engraving which will be continued when the new baby arrives. Manufactured in my workshop, including all the gem setting and engraving.

Family Inspired Wedding Ring

Family Inspired Wedding Ring

Details: 9ct yellow and white gold hand-made  7mm wide wedding ring, 1pt bead set white diamonds, 5pt pressure set treated blue diamond, hand carved name and scroll work.