User Tag List

Page 4 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast
Results 61 to 80 of 111

Thread: Handmade engagement rings

  1. #61
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Asheville, NC
    Posts
    3,462
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    How much time would you estimate you have in an 'average' ring (say of the units posted in this thread)?

    Very very nice work btw.



    **I know 'average ring' is a crapshoot.
    laughter has no foreign accent.

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Boulder County, Colorado
    Posts
    489
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    I'd say the minimum for a custom ring is probably around 3 to 4 hours. On average it's probably around 6 to 8 hours and a really complex job can get into the 20+ hour range. A lot of it depends on whether there is a lot of hand fabrication work, tricky stone setting or intricate engraving. I think the longest time I've spent on a custom piece was around 4 days. Another thing that can take a long time is when you have a repair job that requires serious reconstruction work, like when a ring goes into a sink disposal- that can get pretty ugly.

    Here's a ring I just finished today. It's a bezel set princess cut Diamond eternity band in 14K white Gold. This was a one day job. Setting princess cut stones like this can be a bit tricky because the corners of the stones are really fragile, the stones are rarely square or match perfectly and getting a good finish and clean lines around the stones when setting them is difficult. The stones are also almost always different heights so there's a lot of little adjustments to be made while setting them so everything looks really even when done.


  3. #63
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    DC
    Posts
    30,302
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    59 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Fabulous work. It makes me want to wear rings!

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Madrid
    Posts
    714
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    One of those a few photos back was mine (uh, my wifes now). Honus not only has a talent for design but also for delivery. I called a few weeks before Christmas; he was already slammed working long days. He still designed, built and shipped a couple days before the 25th. Great talent, good people, that know how to deliver: there's an alloy we all like to work with.

  5. #65
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Boulder County, Colorado
    Posts
    489
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    I recently finished this ring and I decided to document the entire process. Have a look- Platinum engagement ring- from CAD to finish


    “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

  6. #66
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    DC
    Posts
    30,302
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    59 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Thanks for sharing this. I can speak for the audience, we are in awe.

  7. #67
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    386
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Yup. One of my fave threads. Always look forward to the surprise in this thread when Honus posts :) Am always amazed at the detail work for such a small object.

  8. #68
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Brooklyn, NY
    Posts
    95
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Great work on the documented ring... Just wish the client would have gone with a better color for the center stone, it really shows up yellow in the pics.

  9. #69
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Boulder County, Colorado
    Posts
    489
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Quote Originally Posted by hokoman View Post
    Great work on the documented ring... Just wish the client would have gone with a better color for the center stone, it really shows up yellow in the pics.
    Thanks everyone! I was pretty happy that my boss agreed to let me document the process. I wish a lot of the photos could have been better but that's the best I could do under the time constraints. Since my scope doesn't have a camera mount it's pretty hard getting good close up shots of the setting process.

    Yep- the center stone is K color but it's actually not as quite as yellow in person as it is in the pics. In the end the client was absolutely thrilled with the ring and that's what really matters. I like to wait in the back of the shop and see people's facial expressions when they first see the finished piece. I can do the job to the best of my ability but the reality is if they're not happy then I'm not happy.
    “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

  10. #70
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    5,887
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    1yr + 2wks has gone by since I proposed and gotta say that the rings still blow me away. Don't know if I ever posted it but this is just after proposing at the top of Snowbird (11,000').

    Instagram

  11. #71
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Boulder County, Colorado
    Posts
    489
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Here's one I just finished for a client. 12 carat orange Sapphire with 328 Diamonds set in white Gold. My eyes were going a little buggy by the end of this one- LOL!



    “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

  12. #72
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    203
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    This is the first thread my wife has ever been interested in reading on the V.

  13. #73
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    386
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Love that Sapphire ring. Makes me think of the columns of the Hagia Sophia in its intricacies.. Beautiful.

    How does the design process work? I'd think you'd have 10x the issues of a framebuilder and opinionated clients.

  14. #74
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Boulder County, Colorado
    Posts
    489
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Quote Originally Posted by roguedog View Post
    How does the design process work? I'd think you'd have 10x the issues of a framebuilder and opinionated clients.
    Pretty simple really. We ask lots of questions and do sketches and computer models based on the information the client provides. Sometimes the client will approve a computer model and sometimes I may carve a wax pattern by hand for approval- it just depends on the job. Some people know exactly what they want and some don't. Opinionated clients aren't a problem because those people by and large have strong ideas about what they want. It's the people that don't have any idea as to what they want that are difficult to please. The only real issue I have is when someone has created a very specific design without knowing the technical details of jewelry manufacturing and is adamant about it being constructed a particular way- and in all honesty that's pretty rare. In that case I usually go through the design/construction process with them so they can understand the technical reasons behind my recommendations regarding the construction of a piece.
    “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

  15. #75
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Boulder County, Colorado
    Posts
    489
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Just finished up this one- three carat cushion cut Diamond set in rose Gold with 238 small Diamonds.



    “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

  16. #76
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Boulder County, Colorado
    Posts
    489
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    The Christmas madness is almost over! Finished this one up today. 1 1/2 carat radiant cut Diamond with Sapphire trillions set in Platinum.



    “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

  17. #77
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    5,887
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    That cut....wow

  18. #78
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    37
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    I suspect I'd go home with a blinding migraine every day; what's your un-aided vision like?

    These all look amazing. I'm making myself a simple carbon band for my ring, just waiting for the next bike to go through a cure cycle to pop that in too. I hate running a cure for a single piece.
    ______________________________________________
    Devin Zoller
    L'Ecu Bicycles
    No. 1 choice of inner SE industrial Portland's discerning velophiles.

  19. #79
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Boulder County, Colorado
    Posts
    489
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    Dustin,
    The cut and brilliance of the stone in person is really amazing. I've always really liked radiant cut stones but they can be a bit tricky to set due to the depth of the stone and cut of the pavilion (underside of the stone.)

    Devin,
    I do wear glasses but my prescription isn't too bad and it's barely changed over the last decade. I have developed a blepharospasm in my right eye over the last couple of years- it really shows up when I get stressed out, frequently using the laser welder or if I've been using the microscope setting small stones all day.

    I've seen some really cool carbon bands lately. We recently picked up a jewelry line from a woman in Germany who uses carbon fiber for bracelets- it's really neat stuff.
    “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

  20. #80
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    625
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default Re: Handmade engagement rings

    This stuff is fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing!

Page 4 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Handmade
    By gltapley in forum The Frame Forum@VSalon
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 07-16-2010, 02:04 PM

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •