Hans Meevis Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 There is a fine line between a goldsmith making what he wants or making things to sell. On the other side, most of the shop jewellery I make is not too over the top. Jewellery has to be pretty, practical and priced within reason to have a good chance of selling. Believe it or not, this is one of those rings. OK, so I think it is pretty--- Some might not (G). This is the fifth beetle ring I have made, and whilst they don't "fly off the shelves", I don't own the other four anymore either. The sapphire is a stone I re cut from an old junk ring and it came out nice and bright. It is loosely based on a stylistic Egyptian scarab beetle. I carved basic ring in wax and then I cast it. Then I carved the tourmaline. The legs were carved and filed out of 1,5mm 18kt white gold wire and then soldered in place. Then I soldered the tubes in and set the stones. The first two pictures show a glint of light behind the stone. With a stone like this, which is essentially a fancy cabochon, that shouldn't happen. Because the stone essentially has a flat bottom so no facets to reflect light. Polishing the bottom of the stone simply shows the gold underneath and changes the apparent colour of the stone, so that's no good. Cutting the gold away allows the finger to be seen, and that works with some rings, but not this one. So what I do is I finish the bottom of the stone off to 1200 grit to diffuse the light.. Then I rough the bottom gold surface up with a 1mm ball frazer. Then I rhodium plate only the bottom surface. This acts as a neutral reflector and make the stone really stand out nicely with out being garish. It also by chance gives a bit of light movement inside the tourmaline which imitates a green iridescent beetle body quite nicely. Serendipity, dude..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 I think it's fantastic, Hans. Love your work Thanks, Billy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 Hi Hans! It is great to read about the working processes of making this ring! I've learned some things that I had not known before. I also like how you considered the various situations for the tourmaline and how reflective or bright the bottom should be. Thank you for posting, it is good to see you here again. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergio Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 Hi Hans, "superbe"! Very nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnus homestead Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Hello Hans, Wow! This is a beautiful ring on all levels - really a superb job! It is my favorite of all the nice pieces you have posted here. Thanks. Blessings, Magnus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.