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Rebecca Howarth
17th November 2009 08:49

CAD designed engagement ring

 

There are many techniques and ways to construct a ring but I am going to discuss the three main methods of construction and their benefits and show you a few commissions that I have been working on recently.

As we talk through and create the design be it in a face-to-face appointment or over the phone with the customer, we are always thinking about how the ring will be made. This is because it will firstly effect the overall look of the ring as well as the time it takes to construct the ring. Each design often lends itself to certain method of manufacturing.

Hand forging a ring using sheet and wire is the way we make the majority of the rings at the studio. Each commission ring is unique and not replicated so mass production techniques are not necessary in most cases, the ring is made directly in the metal rather than made from a master. The exact length and width of metal is calculated depending on the finger size and the design. The goldsmith uses a range of ways to manipulate the metal such as milling the metal through a rolling machine to control the thickness of the metal, filling and hammering to shape and piercing using a fine saw.

Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design workshop
Hand making and engagement ring
The shank is handmade

Making a ring in the above way is not necessarily beneficial in every design. Making a master and casting the ring is the next method sometimes used. Some designs, if made from sheet or wire in precious metal, may mean that a lot of metal is wasted in its shaping and so a master in a less costly material such as wax or silver is can be made. The goldsmith will repeat the processes above by forging or carving the wax into the desired shape. The master is then sent to our casters for a mould to be created and the piece is then cast in the precious metal. The casting process involves a more industrial process. A mould is created from the master and then molten metal is poured into the mould. The process of casting is called centrifugal casting, it works by using gravity and pressure as it spins in a chamber that is heated at incredibly high temperatures.

For example a design that requires the ring to be very wide and deep in one place and narrow and slim in another could mean a lot of wasted material. However, there are a number of other benefits in using this process. If the piece of jewellery has a number if the same element in the design that need to be identical instead you would make a master and then replicate them over and over until you have number you require, and each would be the same. They can then be joined (soldered) together by the goldsmith and hand-finished.

Platinum and diamond starry night inspired ring
Platinum and yellow gold angel inspiredengagement ring
Platinum orb inspired engagement ring

The third way we can construct rings is using Computer Aided Design (CAD). Instead of the Goldsmith hand-forging the metal a ring is made using a 3D modelling tool design package. This is not just another way of drawing an image of a ring but the programme actually creates a 3D model from which a mould is made from which to cast. The program is connected to a mould-making machine which creates the mould in resin. The modeller creating the design on the computer has to have the same knowledge of construction as if they were hand-making it as you need to make sure you are not making it too thin or make sure there is enough metal for the setter to set the stones and many other considerations. From this file a resin mould is made and the casting process as above as carried out. There are a few reasons why we would use this method. If there are multiple settings or lots of fine details that would mean there are a great number of joins that could either be a little weak or would look untidy the ring would be made this way.

I have designed this newly completed ready-to-wear ring using CAD and it means that I have been able to make sure that the three settings taper down so that they are as wide as the band of the ring so that a simple flat wedding ring can sit flush. You can cut out a section on one side of the setting so the band slips underneath but this avoids this. Often people like their rings to sit neatly as a set with no gaps and like to avoid having a fitted wedding ring especially if they often wear the wedding ring on its own.

Platinum and green sapphire engagement ring

Here is the resin that was created.

The resin

Here is the manufacturing process of a ring we are currently creating using this method. This ring has 43 stones! We have three diamonds in the centre, 32 1.75mm pink tourmaline around the edge and 8 stones down the shoulders of the band. Each tourmaline has two claws between each stone. If each claw was to be hand soldered there would be a lot of solder and many joins and would be very labour intensive. So the CAD modeller will create one claw and then copy and position each claw into place at a click of a button!

The design has been finalised after many options and discussions.

Final sketch

We have sourced the stones.

Cad image

Here is the CAD image of the ring in the first stage of construction. Later we refined the leaf shapes so they were more curved and added an extra stone on the shoulders so there are now to be four stones on each side. The green shows the metal, the purple shows the all the claws of the ring, the deep blue shows the large diamonds and the grey is the small pink tourmaline!

The resin has been made. Due to the way the metal flows, when molten in the mould, this ring needs to be cast in too parts to get the best results.

The resin
The resin

You will have to watch this space for the final piece as it will be cast over the next week! The ring will, as pieces, go to the London assay office to be hallmarked, the stone will then be set and the ring polished to give a fine shine.

Becky

Rebecca Howarth
 

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  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, North Barn, Fairclough Hall Farm, Halls Green, Weston, Hertfordshire, SG4 7DP, England
    Phone: +44 (0)1462 790565 Fax: +44 (0)1462 790140 enquiries@hkjewellery.co.uk
  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, 6/7 Green Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3JU, England.
    Phone: +44 (0)1223 461333 Fax: +44 (0)1223 365269 cambridge@hkjewellery.co.uk

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