Madagascar Aquamarine GemstoneI found this plump juicy aquamarine gemstone and I could not wait to get into a setting..oh my gosh. I think it has to be one of the most prettiest rings ever. It sure makes a beauty cocktail ring. It measures 14 X 10mm. It blows my mind that this is a natural stone..meaning no enhancement at all. Wow..most stones need a little help from man, but I am truly amazed with this one.
It was quite fun making this ring. Lately, I have wanted to do something more different. I have been taking some private lessons from a professional metal smith named Jim Dailing here in Bend. He actually was a professor in Portland as he reports a "Masters" degree in metal smithing.
Okay, so I am not wanting to put pressure on myself, but I certainly want to expand my horizons..so be on the look out!
Sterling Silver Stacking Rings
Stacking rings are still my favorites. They are versatile and wear comfortably. They make every day just fun. I am accumulating a lot of scrap and I am trying to find ways to recycle my silver scraps here and there. I am going to be sending my scraps in eventually at some point.
With patterned ring bands, I am still challenged as how to solder them without much of a seam. These thinner ones, I can sort of get away with it..but the wider ones are much more tricky. Any advice anyone? Sure would appreciate it.
10mm Rose Cut Citrine Gemstone Sterling Silver Ring
So with this ring, I implemented a piece of gold filled sheet metal on inside of the bezel. This allows a more "yellow" reflection and basically enhances the stones coloring. Although..it was really fine by itself, gold was a better option then silver. Sure would be neat if someone could invent some colorful metals for enhancement purposes. Anyone?
Nevertheless, the ring came out looking incredible and so I felt lucky to pull this off. I explained to her the risk of a see through cab..she did not seem to mind a bit. Hey, I am happy too. I get to look at this photo for a awhile.
My work is rather simple lately. I know this. I really wanted to perfect the bezel making thing which I feel better about these days. My hope is to start setting faceted pointy stones in tapered bezels..I can't wait!
Any tips, or comments is always appreciated. Have a great day everyone!
It was quite fun making this ring. Lately, I have wanted to do something more different. I have been taking some private lessons from a professional metal smith named Jim Dailing here in Bend. He actually was a professor in Portland as he reports a "Masters" degree in metal smithing.
Okay, so I am not wanting to put pressure on myself, but I certainly want to expand my horizons..so be on the look out!
Sterling Silver Stacking RingsWith patterned ring bands, I am still challenged as how to solder them without much of a seam. These thinner ones, I can sort of get away with it..but the wider ones are much more tricky. Any advice anyone? Sure would appreciate it.
10mm Rose Cut Citrine Gemstone Sterling Silver RingSo a very nice lady back East ask me to please fabricate this gorgeous ring for her..as this was going to be her wedding ring! Wedding ring? Oh my ..I felt so honored so, I thought how in God's name was I going to really do this? She wanted an earthy ring and liked the feel of my style and really wanted a simple rose cut ring with a large citrine stone.
My big concern is ..now I know why for all of these years they never cut clearish stones into cabs. Well, when you set them you have one problem...that is. They can allow the viewer the visibility of the back of the bezel and yes it can be a problem.
My big concern is ..now I know why for all of these years they never cut clearish stones into cabs. Well, when you set them you have one problem...that is. They can allow the viewer the visibility of the back of the bezel and yes it can be a problem.
So with this ring, I implemented a piece of gold filled sheet metal on inside of the bezel. This allows a more "yellow" reflection and basically enhances the stones coloring. Although..it was really fine by itself, gold was a better option then silver. Sure would be neat if someone could invent some colorful metals for enhancement purposes. Anyone?
Nevertheless, the ring came out looking incredible and so I felt lucky to pull this off. I explained to her the risk of a see through cab..she did not seem to mind a bit. Hey, I am happy too. I get to look at this photo for a awhile.
My work is rather simple lately. I know this. I really wanted to perfect the bezel making thing which I feel better about these days. My hope is to start setting faceted pointy stones in tapered bezels..I can't wait!
Any tips, or comments is always appreciated. Have a great day everyone!
5 comments:
Loving your new work!
For a clean seam on a wide band I have to be sooo patient and really get the seam tight, straight, and perfect fitting. I solder on the inside of the band so the solder doesn't flow into the design or the outside of the band. If the seam is right before you solder you will have a solder seam that is virtually undetectable.
Also, for see through cabs I polish the inside of the cab with a brass brush on my flexshaft (or dremel) the small round one where the bristles stand straight up, not go around (make sense?). It burnishes the inside shiny so there is nothing but reflection.
oops I polish the inside of the bezel cup sheesh! and I re-read that so carefully! :-)
I love the gorgeous simplicity, actually. :) Thank you for sharing!
Your new rings are beautiful!! =) I love them all as usual! I never take of the one you sent me!! =)
The aquamarine is so pretty! I like your idea of putting gold behind the citrine. When I set a clear cab, I usually cut as much as possible out of the back of the bezel cup, so there's just nothing there. Whether or not that works kind of depends on how the band joins the back of the bezel cup though. :-)
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