Hi All,
I got an unusual shaped diamond setting job in last week and I thought you might like to see how it
came out. The main stone was the normal 1 1/2 carat round diamond in the center but there were 8 specially cut
trapezoid cut diamonds that surrounded it to make an octagon.
Princess cut stone can be nervous job in that if the stones are thin then point can be weak. The trapezoid cut
shape stone have this problem just more so because there is less material to strengthen the points.
The angle of point is similar to a marque shaped stone but marques have more depth and thus are
stronger and can take more pressure.
The ring itself is 18k white gold which can be a tough metal sometimes. This alloy happens to be a good
one in that it's a rolled gold alloy. Rolled gold alloy are more elastic and less brittle, and lend themselves
very well to engraving and setting.
Older cast 18k gold alloys can be very brittle and can be very difficult to use a graver in. That is why
casting a customers old gold can be a real problem. The metal may have lost most of its low temperature
alloys which causes stress cracks during rolling through a mill. So if a customer would like you to make
a pin or pendant and engrave it from 18k white gold. It might not be possible from old gold.
Having soft metal to push over stone is a real good thing, especially around these trapezoids.
This is the sequence of putting this ring together with the setting of the stones and the engraving.
This customer wanted more design value than diamond weight in the ring, so the use of small stone
in the pavilion wall with bright cutting made it a very interesting setting job.
Getting the walls to fold over and then mill grain them went well and I was happy that diamond
firm did a good job on cutting to order and the lay out worked well. These day precision is the
name of the game.
Most of my engraving is bright cut including the decorative elements of leaves. So you have
to keep in mind when the ring dulls down, the engraving had better be pretty and very exact.
I like to think of a ring shank as one complete idea rather than three zones that don't alway
work together well. I seen some engraved rings where this was a problem and the setter
got caught in a habit of one design motif.
Trying to balance all the elements that are going on
in these high end rings is the main focus. It a competitive market out there. So you better think
about what your trying to sell someone.
Talk to ya later,
Jim
I got an unusual shaped diamond setting job in last week and I thought you might like to see how it
came out. The main stone was the normal 1 1/2 carat round diamond in the center but there were 8 specially cut
trapezoid cut diamonds that surrounded it to make an octagon.
Princess cut stone can be nervous job in that if the stones are thin then point can be weak. The trapezoid cut
shape stone have this problem just more so because there is less material to strengthen the points.
The angle of point is similar to a marque shaped stone but marques have more depth and thus are
stronger and can take more pressure.
The ring itself is 18k white gold which can be a tough metal sometimes. This alloy happens to be a good
one in that it's a rolled gold alloy. Rolled gold alloy are more elastic and less brittle, and lend themselves
very well to engraving and setting.
Older cast 18k gold alloys can be very brittle and can be very difficult to use a graver in. That is why
casting a customers old gold can be a real problem. The metal may have lost most of its low temperature
alloys which causes stress cracks during rolling through a mill. So if a customer would like you to make
a pin or pendant and engrave it from 18k white gold. It might not be possible from old gold.
Having soft metal to push over stone is a real good thing, especially around these trapezoids.
This is the sequence of putting this ring together with the setting of the stones and the engraving.
This customer wanted more design value than diamond weight in the ring, so the use of small stone
in the pavilion wall with bright cutting made it a very interesting setting job.
Getting the walls to fold over and then mill grain them went well and I was happy that diamond
firm did a good job on cutting to order and the lay out worked well. These day precision is the
name of the game.
Most of my engraving is bright cut including the decorative elements of leaves. So you have
to keep in mind when the ring dulls down, the engraving had better be pretty and very exact.
I like to think of a ring shank as one complete idea rather than three zones that don't alway
work together well. I seen some engraved rings where this was a problem and the setter
got caught in a habit of one design motif.
Trying to balance all the elements that are going on
in these high end rings is the main focus. It a competitive market out there. So you better think
about what your trying to sell someone.
Talk to ya later,
Jim
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