Help me with a design!!!

[kristy_lyn]

I''m thinking about purchasing a ring for my father... with our birthstones in it.

Unfortunately, our birthstones are kind of weird colors.
October - pink tourmaline or zircon, or opal
July - ruby
December - blue zircon or blue topaz

Any creative ideas on how to put these colored stones together in a *very large* (size 16-16.5) without totally breaking the bank?

I was thinking either:
-A simple row of small stones gypsy or channel set across the shank
or
-maybe something using an opal doublet and blue zircon/ruby accent stones?

Any great/creative ideas????

 

[jszweda]

Date: 1/3/2007 10:57:55 PM
Author:kristy_lyn

I''m thinking about purchasing a ring for my father... with our birthstones in it.

Unfortunately, our birthstones are kind of weird colors.
October - pink tourmaline or zircon, or opal
July - ruby
December - blue zircon or blue topaz

Any creative ideas on how to put these colored stones together in a *very large* (size 16-16.5) without totally breaking the bank?

I was thinking either:
-A simple row of small stones gypsy or channel set across the shank
or
-maybe something using an opal doublet and blue zircon/ruby accent stones?

Any great/creative ideas????

It can be done, and given the fact I just saw a large design come out of fabrication (with someone elses money and not mine), I can offer a few tips.

If money is an issue (like when isn''t it?), and especially for that large of a hand, don''t get a solid ring. You might need to put some sort of undergallery in it or something though to reinforce it. However, if it were solid, with the price gold is now, WHOA. Trust me on that.

For me personally, and this is just me, I think the saying less is more might come into play. If you can find someone that knows how to do it (which is a trick), there is much to be said about raised releif in a man''s ring. If you have a pattern that works, the setting can carry itself and you don''t need a lot of diamond or any accent stones, or not as many.

Do you have pics of the stones themselves or some dimensions or are you just trying to get some ideas together?

I think I see where you''re going with the symbolism with the birth stones and all, but for a mans ring, that''s going to be tough to pull off. If you notice, men''s rings usually don''t have a lot of variated colors, and you may have something with diamonds and/or colored stones. That''s about it. With a woman''s ring, you could get away with all sorts of stuff though like that and pull it off.

It might look a little busy so to speak if you tried to use all of those stones in combination if you ask me, but that''s just my opinion. If you took just the pink tourmaline and maybe some good rubies, that could work. If you did a blue zircon or blue topaz with an opal, that could work too if it''s done right.

I will also say this, good opals are rediculous in price for the most part. If you want a lab created opal, there are some good ones. If you want a natural one, good luck. There are some good doublets out there that have some good fire in them, and they are more moderately priced. You can find a good crystal opal, have a piece of millstone behind it, and voila! It''s a doublet. It''s a natural white/crystal opal with a black backing behind it to emulate what a black opal is in nature. I personally like those, and the blue/green ones that are termed black as the backs are black or grey naturally.

HTH

 

[kristy_lyn]

What exactly is "raised relief"? Do you have any pictures of this sort of style?

The reason I want to get a ring like this, is because my Dad always wears his Dad''s birthstone ring for special occasions, and, I would love to get him one of his own.

Dang, why does his finger have to be so huge!

I will have to post a couple pictures tonight of some of the stuff I''m thinking of.

Maybe I will just fabricate something myself out of silver. It would have as much meaning, but would cost *significantly* less.

 

[jszweda]

Krisity,

I do have a pic for an example but I have to rename it from the last time I uploaded that same image. Essentially if you''ve ever seen a class ring or something of the like, that carved out part is what is known as raised releif. The style can be anything you want. Personally, I like some filagree patterns and anything very eclecctic European and very intricate. For women''s rings, I like something like a Victorian/Edwardian type of design. If you carve out something so that the carving is raised or has an embossed look, that is raised releif. If you do it right, you don''t need a lot of accent stones as the setting will carry itself. The problem is that finding someone who can do it intricately, and willing to do it. If you find it though, it''s not your typical ring and that''s the problem with men''s rings if you ask me. They are all so plain and blah.

If you use some of those stones, I would suggest for the zircon, opal and tourmalines a bezel setting. Remember though, opals and the torch don''t get along and you have to remember that for sizing. Some jewelers will refuse to resize an opal ring for that reason, and they are too scared to plop the stone out. If you go with a ruby and/or topaz, you could prong set those and the heating factor isn''t an issue. Heat also isn''t an issue with tourmalines.

If you''re on a budget, I will recommend a AJS Gems at www.ajsgems.com for the stones if you don''t have them. His quality is really good, and his prices are way below retail, and way better than you will find in a given jewelry store. He has some free form opals for less than anyone else I have seen, and they look light years better than anything I''ve seen in a jewelry store in years (that is natural anyways). He does have pink tourmalines as well as rubelite tourmalines. If you want to go with a zircon, he has those too. He has some really nice blue zircons for about $100 a carat.

If you go with silver, that''s your decision. However, it''s not nearly as durable as gold is. If you do find something ready made that you like and fits your price range, you may have to have some work done for that size. When you get into a ring that size, you may have to cut the shank off, and replace it with a larger one to size it to 16-16.5.

 

[jszweda]

Kristy,

This is an example of a ring with raised releif. This is my design (hence the legal copyright), and there are certin other details that this rendering doesn''t show because they couldn''t be machined readily. There is a heavy sand cast in between the leaflets, and a mill grain beaded edge around the profile to just at the start of the shank, and along the shoulders. The pattern along the profile (side) is also a raise releif.

You can come up with any pattern you want realisitically. You could come up with a wood type pattern (which I saw in an antique piece once) and fire polish it. I show this as an example of the releif itself.

By the time the stones went in to that ring, and the mill grain was done, and the heavy sand cast finish in between, the releif is polished. In between that and the mill grain has a slightly sateen texture to it. It doesn''t need any accent stones in the setting itself as it has some eye candy there to. That particular piece was also cast as a solid piece. It''s not hollowed out, but there is a partial opening beneath the stone. The nice thing about things like that is you don''t need to worry about how it will fill when fit, no need for a detailed under gallery, and the shank is thicker than what you typically see in a given ring.

I have another pic of a mens ring with another pattern of my own design, and it''s in another forum also.

HTH

 

[Cehrabehra]

What about a ring that like a signet ring with a large flat gold top and on one side you could have three rows of tiny melee stacked oldest to youngest with a large monogramed letter for his last name to the left of it... like this (but remember, I suck at this lol) (see attached photo)

or.... here''s another idea: http://www.terryberry.net/detail.asp?Session=8428766171.193.177.1574643671&Lang=1&wp=2&sel=2500