Wax mold question - Is it worth having it sent or are photos good enough?

[BlingDreams]

We have the option of having wax molds sent to us to try them on prior to casting; it does add to the overall cost. My question is would you do it if you could or have you found that photos of the wax are good enough? Can you get a true idea of how the ring will fit/sit from the wax casting? For example, can you get a good idea of how low the diamond will sit, how wide the ring will be, how thin the filigree is, etc. or is it bulky like a CAD? We're trying to decide if it's worth the cost.

 

[Sagefemme]

I got a wax model of my ring in advance of it being made. I really wanted to make sure I was happy with the fit, and to get an idea of the overall size and proportionality of the ring on my hand. You can't really tell how the stone will sit; the wax model just has untrimmed prongs sticking up. The ring maker told me the wax was only slightly bulkier than the finished ring would be, which I would say was accurate. I think it ended up costing me about $35 to have the wax.

 

[BlingDreams]

I got a wax model of my ring in advance of it being made. I really wanted to make sure I was happy with the fit, and to get an idea of the overall size and proportionality of the ring on my hand. You can't really tell how the stone will sit; the wax model just has untrimmed prongs sticking up. The ring maker told me the wax was only slightly bulkier than the finished ring would be, which I would say was accurate. I think it ended up costing me about $35 to have the wax.

Thanks for your reply. That's why he is thinking of getting one - because his ring is 12mm and with raised texture, so it'll be quite a bit larger/bulkier than he's used to wearing and he wants to make sure it doesn't interfere with his golf grip (he plays often and doesn't want to have to remove it to play). If our cost was only $35 we wouldn't blink, but it's $125 . In the overall scheme of things it's a drop in the hat, but it's still worth asking "is it really worth it to spend the money on it?"

 

[SimoneDi]

I would get it for your husband to be, because men's wedding rings are such foreign objects to them. I think that as long as you are happy with your designs, your rings are less likely not to fit well. I would get your wedding bands at least a 1/4 size larger because once you stack, there will be less real estate on your finger and that makes everything tighter.

 

[BlingDreams]

I would get it for your husband to be, because men's wedding rings are such foreign objects to them. I think that as long as you are happy with your designs, your rings are less likely not to fit well. I would get your wedding bands at least a 1/4 size larger because once you stack, there will be less real estate on your finger and that makes everything tighter.

I've been wondering about that!! My finger needs a 6.5 to get over my knuckle, but then it's around a 5.75-6 at the base (no way to really measure it, but significantly smaller). I'm getting two 2mm stacking bands and then my e-ring; I was planning on doing all of them at 6.5 but wondering if maybe I should do 6.75 for the e-ring?

 

[SimoneDi]

I've been wondering about that!! My finger needs a 6.5 to get over my knuckle, but then it's around a 5.75-6 at the base (no way to really measure it, but significantly smaller). I'm getting two 2mm stacking bands and then my e-ring; I was planning on doing all of them at 6.5 but wondering if maybe I should do 6.75 for the e-ring?

I would do the e-ring at 6.5 and the bands at 6.75, because you will be wearing the ring alone for a while and you wouldn't want it to spin. If you can just buy a couple of cheap bands, stack them and wear them for a bit, that might be ideal in order to estimate which size combo is the best. My ring finger is 5.25, however, it does swell in the summer quite a bit and I find that a loose 5.5 or even 5.75 fitst best all seasons. I had my ring at 5.25 for a while, I wanted to cut it off most of the time and it even bruised my finger! So no-no to small sizes.

 

[MollyMalone]

Ring sizing isn't a dependable given. Even metal mandrels & those sets of metal sizer rings on a hoop are not all truly uniform; you'll see in this thread that Trade member Lee Little had 3 mandrels that proved to be inconsistent with each other:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...operly-measure-ring-size-on-a-mandrel.199854/

So unless the jeweler has a ring of mine that fits me well & is using that as the basis for sizing, has sized me in person, or we're on the same page with the measuring MO described in the thread above, I like to be able to try on a model before casting.

P.S. How much more would cvb charge to send you a silver casting, at least for your fiancé's wedding band; some other folks have opted for that (not just the wax/resin model) when working with her & that would be an even more lifelike sample for your fiancé to "audition" with his golf clubs, etc.

 

[BlingDreams]

Ring sizing isn't a dependable given. Even metal mandrels & those sets of metal sizer rings on a hoop are not all truly uniform; you'll see in this thread that Trade member Lee Little had 3 mandrels that proved to be inconsistent with each other:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...operly-measure-ring-size-on-a-mandrel.199854/

So unless the jeweler has a ring of mine that fits me well & is using that as the basis for sizing, has sized me in person, or we're on the same page with the measuring MO described in the thread above, I like to be able to try on a model before casting.

P.S. How much more would cvb charge to send you a silver casting, at least for your fiancé's wedding band; some other folks have opted for that (not just the wax/resin model) when working with her & that would be an even more lifelike sample for your fiancé to "audition" with his golf clubs, etc.

Thanks for the info on sizing. I'll admit that's probably my main concern at this point, as the bands are full eternity and can't be sized. But the e-ring will have plain metal on the bottom so I can modify it in the future if necessary. I'd just rather get it right, right from the start

And GREAT idea about a silver band. I'll ask!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

12mm is extremely wide for a men's band. Has he tried on 12mm bands?

 

[BlingDreams]

12mm is extremely wide for a men's band. Has he tried on 12mm bands?

He has, but only for a short while while we were in the store looking at bands. He has huge hands though (think pro bball player size). Here's a photo of him wearing a 20mm mens ring. As you can see, there is plenty of real estate to be filled on that first knuckle.


Even a 10mm looked thin/feminine on him; since he wants his ring to make a statement, we're in a quandary. What we decided to do was order a 12mm tungsten wedding band from Amazon for $25 and see how that works for him. It will be close enough to his design to give him a good idea how it will fit with everyday life.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The thing about a ring versus a band is that usually rings turn more narrow in the back where the finger needs to bend. But maybe a 12mm band will work on those fingers! Excellent plan to order the tungsten band!

 

[BlingDreams]

The thing about a ring versus a band is that usually rings turn more narrow in the back where the finger needs to bend. But maybe a 12mm band will work on those fingers! Excellent plan to order the tungsten band!

Yes, exactly. This band tapered to 8mm in the back, so we didn't really have a gauge of how 12mm would feel. We did know that it at least wouldn't look ridiculous

And thanks! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[minimountains]

I've appreciated having wax molds in person to physically try on. The first time I did this, the wax was much too thick, the wax surrounding my diamond ended up needing to be trimmed back over 40%, as well as the shank. I'm thankful I was able to see, otherwise I would have been unhappy and shipped back.

 

[OoohShiny]

If you just want to check how 12mm will wear on the finger, check out sizing bands from 'MokumeDamascusRings' on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/264806460/sizing-bands-set-of-three-8mm-quality

I think you would have to ask about a 12mm sizing set because IIRC he only goes up to 8mm on the listings, but he is good to work with, quick and also very reasonably priced. He may well be able to accommodate you


EDIT: haha - I should read all the posts properly before posting! Although if the 12mm you bought tapered to 8mm at the back, it would be good to get a 'proper' 12mm band to try

 

[BlingDreams]

EDIT: haha - I should read all the posts properly before posting! Although if the 12mm you bought tapered to 8mm at the back, it would be good to get a 'proper' 12mm band to try

Haha! No worries - I appreciate your trying to help! And it was his mens ring that tapers, not the band we bought, so hopefully it will work for our purposes

 

[BlingDreams]

We have a verdict! He can rock the 12mm in terms of finger coverage, but it just isn't "him". It looks too... industrial? I'm not sure how to put it. But it looked off. So we're asking CvB to drop it to 10mm.

SO glad we did this little experiment!

 

[Gussie]

When you first mentioned 12mm and that your fiancee has bball size hands I thought of my husband's ring and hands. My husband is 6'8" with huge hands and easily palms a ball. I measured his ring and it is only 8.5 mm. He never takes it off to play golf, basketball, do yard work, or lift weights so it is obviously comfortable and doesn't look feminine at all. I am glad you got the mold and made sure!

 

[BlingDreams]

When you first mentioned 12mm and that your fiancee has bball size hands I thought of my husband's ring and hands. My husband is 6'8" with huge hands and easily palms a ball. I measured his ring and it is only 8.5 mm. He never takes it off to play golf, basketball, do yard work, or lift weights so it is obviously comfortable and doesn't look feminine at all. I am glad you got the mold and made sure!

Nice to hear from another bigger-handed person . Does he have really wide fingers too? We measured his thumb the other day and it's over 1.25 inches (which is almost twice the size of mine)! And very interesting to hear that his 8.5mm band doesn't look feminine... I wonder if it was just the style we had tried on that made it look that way? I think I might have to send him out to look at band widths again because now I'm questioning 10mm......

 

[Gussie]

I am not sure if his fingers are wide. They are so crazy long that I don't think I would notice the width (similar to his 6'8", 205lb. body!) He has a very plain, rounded comfort fit non plated white gold band. I will take a pic later tonight after he gets home from work. My husband doesn't care for jewelry at all (not even a watch) but wears his band at all times. I can't even imagine how dirty it is, lol!

 

[farrahlyn]

SO glad you tried the wax! My DH has big hands too, wears a size 12 ring. He has an 8mm band (carbon fiber inset) that just fits him wonderfully without looking dainty at all. smaller than that def looks silly on him but the 8mm is just right. He does have some larger rings that he doesn't wear on a regular basis, i think the biggest is prob close to 12mm wide but def not something he would want to wear on a daily basis.

 

[BlingDreams]

SO glad you tried the wax! My DH has big hands too, wears a size 12 ring. He has an 8mm band (carbon fiber inset) that just fits him wonderfully without looking dainty at all. smaller than that def looks silly on him but the 8mm is just right. He does have some larger rings that he doesn't wear on a regular basis, i think the biggest is prob close to 12mm wide but def not something he would want to wear on a daily basis.

Are his fingers long too? Or just thick?

 

[farrahlyn]

Are his fingers long too? Or just thick?

i don't think they're particularly long... but that may be because my perception is skewed after 17 years with the man. His fingers are long enough to to easily wear a 12mm ring comfortably. he's just 5'5" but his hands and fingers are bigger than all three of my brothers who are all right around 6'. I'm looking at a photo now and he has plenty of real estate remaining on his finger with his band.

Funny, this ring is only a few years old, i purchased a new one for him for our 15th anniversary. He was wearing an inexpensive silver ring at the time. Anyway, when i took his silver ring to be sized so i could order a new ring, i went to 3 jewelry stores just to be sure. the associates kept asking if i was positive that this ring fit him because it was such a large ring size.

 

[Gussie]

Ring size 10.5
8.5mm band

 

[diamondseeker2006]

8.5mm is really wide and masculine, imo!