HUGE pink corundum needs a home

[PhillipSchmidt]

Hi,

Excuse the finger marks and the little hairs but this 12 x 8 cushion/cross cut stone needs a ring to call home.

Does anybody have any ideas. I have seen quite a few in the coloured stone threads, but being lazy, I thought I''d post this photo and have them all in the same area.

I will be making one of them.

It''s supposed to be a fun piece but some of the ideas I have are a are bit beyond just fun, so any design might do.

Personally I would like a hand-forged wired design to show my customer and steer her that way, but I expect Tiffany, etc are providing the inspiration moreso.

Hope you can help.

Phillip

 

[widget]

Phillip:

I''d LOVE to see the stone...cushion /crosscut???.... but I can''t see it! Is it my computer?

widget

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/7/2005 7:25:9 PM
Author:Platinumsmith

Personally I would like a hand-forged wired design to show my customer and steer her that way, but I expect Tiffany, etc are providing the inspiration moreso.

Schlumberger signed quite a few woven rings... there''s lots of hand forged "wire" by Tiffany

Just show one as refference for your design: that should sound good

 

[belle]

argh!! where is this stone you speak of!?
hope you get it to post!

 

[widget]

This may be a totally stupid question...but could someone explain to me what "hand forging" is?

Am a right in understanding that no wax model is used, no casting...I somehow get a picture of a teeny tiny blacksmith, hammering away at a teeny tiny anvil....

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[belle]

I somehow get a picture of a teeny tiny black smith, hammering away at a teeny tiny anvil....

for some reason, this just made me laugh! i was just picturing it.....lil teeny blacksmith, and his teeny tiny anvil working away.....

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/7/2005 7:52:55 PM
Author: widget

I somehow get a picture of a black smith hammering away at a teeny tiny anvil....

Hm... you aren't too far from the mark

Look at these.

I don't know if Platinumsmiths would still use much of the old stuff, but jewelers around here do.

 

[jadeleaves]

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

No stone pics--is this some kind of cruel joke???

Anyway, I have fallen in love with the rings on the Vera Wang website--and her braded semiprecious stone rings, are in my opinion, fab. In fact they are my inspiration for that Morganite or my dreams.......

cheers--Sharon

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

You guys make me laugh.

Thanks for leving messages anyway.

Hope this helps!!

 

[belle]

WOW!! what a beauty!! that looks just downright delicious

does "fun" mean sans excess elaborate bling?

 

[jadeleaves]

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Val, that is a pretty small collection shown there. The thing about it, is the quality, not the type. You wouldn't hand forge much using that stuff alone. I am sure Leons bench shows another story.

The same techniques are used today pretty well the same as last century, however:

-Torches are better, though some people still use blowpipe torches. I prefer to use regulated oxy/propane and hydrogen burners are often used as well as just propane alone.
-Benches are better. I have gawked in horror at what bench workers used to put up with - and still do. I always make my own and my style is more like the American version.
-Lighting is better,
-cleaning equip' is better
-and scales are much better.

Anything made in steel for forging is better ye oldie worlde' and it is very hard to get hold of because it is kept for decoration but still in use. The same stuff is as useful today as it ever was. There are some good things on the market that weren’t before (especially for platinum work), but that all about replacing sand for graphite and simple value adding things like that. The ideas are old and a well equipped bench worker from last century could do just as well, if not better then today.

Certainly there were more skills back then and I'd suggest if you want to improve the technology in your workshop study up on old techniques - though we are talking about the trade secrets that have always been kept closely guarded.

You should see the jewellery museum in Birmingham UK, or just visit and see some of the workshops. Almost nothing has changed between the old and the new, especially where hand forging is concerned.
Have a look here

Forging equipment is very expensive gear, but in many jewellery oriented tool shops, metal tools for forging are the biggest sellers because with mass-production being outsourced and custom work still going strong, only model makers and high end fabricators are busy and they always need more tools.

Actually, I am old school all the way Val. This reminds me to bring my tree stump to work. I have needed that for ages. If I didn't have the old fashioned equipment all I could do is carve waxes and file casting or better yet become a designer maker and work with plastics etc. That is NOT what I am about!!

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Ask Jade Belle,

I think the design can be simple and be just as affective.

Wired - I mean made with wires. This is old school and there is almost nothing made like it today. There really never was as when they were designing jewellery for stones of this size the product went to the pope or something...

Just imagine two wires forming the 4 claws. Those wires need the support of a wire underbezel. They will meet an oval shape at the cutlet, that''s the setting in it''s most simplest. I need photos myself to help me design the structure of the setting. I am determined (if I do it this way) that I stick with old school principles.

The band can be any number of things. I am not sure the usual tricks can work on a ring of this scale.

Because it is a fun piece it will be fun thinking about it and being creative.

This is not the only design style we are looking at. Just something I will be making at one time. I have more stones anyway, so if this one is going to be used on a more solid, more contempory ''bling'' design that cool too.

I am pretty determined that it won''t be too expensive, though of course it must look the goods,

Thanks

 

[valeria101]

Oh well... one old school thing that might as well happen to a windowed cushion.

Thanks for the story, Platinumsmith

 

[jadeleaves]

 

[jadeleaves]

 

[jadeleaves]

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Not bad Val,

The undergallery is nice. The settings for the stones look a bit rough and ready. Nothing a bit bi-carb won''t fix []

Lets go for something inbetween

I am going for something wired as nicely arranged prepolished wires give simplicity and class.

Otherwise I am tending toward carving something in wax and letting the curves do the talking. The extra weight will bring a higher price but I don''t think many people mind paying for weight when it is on their finger.

Add diamonds to suit. I am not yet eager to add pave'' as a feature. I''d like to design the ring and add the other stones to match. A little can do a lot sometimes.

This would be a first for you Jade. That is fun in itself!

 

[jadeleaves]

 

[belle]

phillip would want to strangle you, but my......wouldn''t it be nice!!!

 

[velouriaL]

Ana - I LOVE that Georgian ring. I wonder if something that old would stand up to everyday wear.

Platinum Smith-
Fun! This thread reminds me of the ring my favorite designer, Marc Jacobs, did for Louis Vuitton last season. This season it''s out in smoky topaz. Anyway, I can''t find any good pictures online...

I can''t wait to see what you come up with!

 

[velouriaL]

BTW, I am intrigued by your idea of the wire design. How sturdy is that? Do youbend wires then heat and cool them to get them to set, or something else? Pictures!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Just out of curiousity, Philip, that corundum has the look of a lab created stone. Is it synthetic?

 

[jadeleaves]

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Thanks Jade. Pretty stone. I like the color.

 

[valeria101]

Oh, wow ! You got me

(easy to do actually).

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Richard. Did you guess by all the hints, i.e. not calling it a ‘pink sapphire’ and the loose constraints on design - nah. Of course the colour is unnatural, that''s how you knew.

Sorry about that Val, and anybody else who thought it was real. This FUN idea came up over a conversation over CZ''s and I managed to secure something nice at a good price. That''s all.

I have always had a thing for sapphire and I personally think that created sapphires have a lot of merit as a gemstone. I have issues with the ''created'' look but I think a ring made to accentuate stones like these (and lets confine that to this one) will prove to be a really nice jewel.

I''d love to hear people’s thoughts about this in those terms, as a fun, relatively inexpensive piece.

Back to the wire issue - I missed something in my last answer. About strength, for a start - how I get there is not something I worry about. I start out just thinking of the look. It is a process of getting an idea and then starting with the essentials - 4 claws being the main issue - height and fit dictating that. Once made, I can move toward the look. It is far easier to know what is best when you have the basic structure in your hand. Designing is all about timing and priorities. As usual, I will make a choice as and when I have to

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Date: 3/9/2005 7:14:14 AM
Author: Platinumsmith
Richard. Did you guess by all the hints, i.e. not calling it a pink sapphire; and the loose constraints on design - nah. Of course the colour is unnatural, that's how you knew.

The cut is the biggest clue. That "scissors pattern" faceting is typical of synthetics and almost never seen on a natural.

The high transparency and clarity is the second clue. A natural stone that clear and transparent would be unusual.

I have seen some natural pinks in that shade of color though.

It does look like a fun stone, both to work with and to wear.

 

[strmrdr]

I think synthetic sapphire/ruby has a ton of bling for the buck and like it.

For this stone id keep the setting simple and minimal just enought to hold the stone on the finger and blend it in a little.
A stone that size can talk all its own.
I like the idea of a fairly simple wire design.
Id go with a basket type setting and add a thin band.
One of the designs I worked up for a stone like this one was simply that... take a wire basket for a pendant and add the shank to it.
Someday I may even have it actualy made.