Van Craeynest Bands and Ering

[Love in Bloom]

Thanks Dfan! I was just staring at my ering under the microscope today at work (I have an odd work schedule as I work in a biology lab). I have no idea how a human being can make something with such tiny details

.

 

[diamondfan]

there are some true craftsman still out there, thankfully. I looked at their site, would love to have a band from them, their stuff is incredible.

 

[Cehrabehra]

your rings are beautiful I really love your hub2be''s too!!!

 

[lumpkin]

Those are beautiful. I actually had never heard of that manufacturer. I''m very impressed with the detail and they look hand etched. Are they? Sorry, I''m on a time constraint and haven''t been able to read every post.

I''d love to see even more pictures, but I''m kind of a picture hog!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 4/2/2007 5:31:23 PM
Author: lumpkin
Those are beautiful. I actually had never heard of that manufacturer. I''m very impressed with the detail and they look hand etched. Are they? Sorry, I''m on a time constraint and haven''t been able to read every post.

I''d love to see even more pictures, but I''m kind of a picture hog!

Widget has a ring by them. It is more than just etching. You need to read the site. Their work is pretty unique because they do it the old way.

http://www.vancraeynest.com/index.html

 

[KimberlyH]

Wow, what uniquely beautiful rings!

 

[Love in Bloom]

I have read that VC employs a number of techniques to produce each ring. They are die struck, which I think means they are punched from rolled sheets of gold or platinum (called ''blanks'') at high pressure. The details involve hand chasing, carving and engraving. Read more about it here:

Oops the link won''t paste. This is from Micky Roof''s website under "techniques employed"

Van Craeynest:
Techniques Employed.

DIE STRIKING.
Die striking is a method of making jewelry in which gold or platinum is forced into shape between hardened steel dies under 2 to 10 tons of pressure, depending on the press used. The metal is struck "cold," and its molecular structure is actually changed during the process...making the metal much harder and tougher.

Each design has its own set of dies, whose creation is begun by hand-carving an original positive base-relief of the ring into solid steel. This original carving (called a "hub") is then hardened, and from it are derived all the dies and other tools that will be used to make the ring.

Beautiful jewelry can be made by casting, but one cannot then pierce the metal, as Van Craeynest does—it isn''t strong enough, and it may be porous. Casting expands metal; die striking compresses it, increasing its density and strength and allowing the Van Craeynest artists to work more extensively with the metal to achieve much finer detail.

CARVING.
Carving creates a design by cutting or sculpting away metal. The result is a surface that shows deep contour and relief, very much like carving in wood. It''s unlike wax carving, in that wax can be worked by cutting, softening or melting. Carving in gold, platinum or steel is an artistic skill requiring years of training, practice and patience. In Van Craeynest jewelry, carving is usually used in conjunction with hand engraving and chasing.

CHASING.
Chasing is a technique of modeling and moving gold and platinum, in the same way that clay is modeled. No metal is removed during chasing; rather, the craftsman uses a small chasing hammer and tiny hardened steel punches to squeeze, move, mold and shape the metal. The hammer handle is about the same length as a carpenter''s hammer, but very thin...and the head is just three-quarters of an inch long. Steel chasing punches are about half the size of a pencil, and each artist owns about two hundred different ones.

Chasing is used in conjunction with carving to make patterns and deep texture in the metal. (Carving and chasing requires a very high level of skill, and an enormous amount of patience!)

HAND ENGRAVING.
Hand engraving is a surface technique similar to pen and ink drawing. It uses hardened and sharpened steel gravers to cut lines into gold or platinum; however, no depth of relief is achieved by this process. It is usually confined to letter work such as monograms, but delicate details and subtle shadings can also be achieved. As an example, the tiny veins in the flowers and leaves of Van Craeynest rings are hand engraved after the piece has been carved and chased.

PIERCING.
Piercing is the removal of metal by cutting it away with a hair-sized saw blade. It is done by drilling very tiny holes into an area of metal, threading the saw blade through the hole, connecting the saw frame and cutting out each section by hand. This requires a high level of expertise, and is remarkably focused work.

Many Van Craeynest designs require carving, chasing, hand engraving and piercing...and may take an individual craftsman a week or more to complete.

INDIVIDUALLY CREATED.
Each piece is unique: even the same design created by the same artist may differ in subtle ways. All Van Craeynest jewelry is hand made in their San Francisco workrooms, and even their seasoned professionals continue to train intensively in the old-world techniques used.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I still love these rings! Any chance you could post some hand shots for us so we could get a better idea of the proportion of the settings?

 

[Love in Bloom]

Hi Diamondseeker,

Sorry I haven''t been on in a while, I am so busy planning wedding stuff and it is really getting to me! OH how I would just love to do nothing but browse the engagement ring/eye candy forum posts

I will work on hand shots this week, definitely. It is supposed to be sunny and warm the beginning of this week instead of gloomy and overcast of late. My mood and photographic abilities are very much tied to the weather! Hoping to satisfy your hand shot desires soon

!

LIB

 

[Ellen]

Wow, I can''t believe I missed this thread. Your rings are really beautiful!! And hubby''s too!

 

[widget]

Date: 5/6/2007 8:20:58 PM
Author: Ellen
Wow, I can''t believe I missed this thread. Your rings are really beautiful!! And hubby''s too!

Me too Ellen! I''m shocked that I never posted here!

LinB: Your rings are exquisite. Congratulations!

...And thanks for posting that piece from Mick Roof''s website...that is the most understandable description of different methods in jewelry making that I''ve ever read.


widget

 

[Love in Bloom]

Finally, for Diamondseeker, Poptart, and anyone else who likes pictures.... LIB's hand shots with proportions and what little specs I have at the bottom. I love spring!