A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by DBL

[yssie]

I want to start a new thread to document my experience with DBL re-making my Fivestone design. It's still the early stages, but I have a couple of in-the-making photos that really show off the process, and I know it's something that other PSers find interesting I'll update this thread as we go along.

My reset thread here: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yssies-reset-thread.166349/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yssies-reset-thread.166349/[/URL]


This is just part of the head: the trellis is made from wires that are bent and shaped into position. The finish is rough as it hasn't been finished and polished yet, but already we can see some differences in the details between the two - the greater curve of the trellis wires, the delicacy of the baskets, the increased angle of the last pair of sidestones. I'm really looking forward to seeing it come together as production continues!


I am curious what the next step will be: how will they make the end-prongs and trellis/shank meets fluid? I've also asked David to double check on the gold alloy, and confirm that the metal is a warm, creamy colour IRL.


The bench has apparently given it the same moniker that Victor Canera chose - "PITA"




***The design is mine, and I have permission from DBL to post these photos. No toes were stepped on in the starting of this thread

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

 

[missy]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Ooh Yssie! I am so excited for you! I know this has been a long journey but I know it will all be worth it in the end. I am looking forward to seeing your beautiful finished ring and how happy you and your dh will be!!
I think David/DBL does beautiful work and their jewelry is gorgeous!!

 

[Laila619]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Very cool! I think you will be really happy when it's done.

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Ooh Yssie! I am so excited for you! I know this has been a long journey but I know it will all be worth it in the end. I am looking forward to seeing your beautiful finished ring and how happy you and your dh will be!!
I think David/DBL does beautiful work and their jewelry is gorgeous!!

Thanks missy!! Their high-end work really is marvelous!

It's been a long journey but I'm back in the driver's seat now, and I've learnt that that's where I need to be, no compromising. I can't wait for the next installments!!

Very cool! I think you will be really happy when it's done.

Your warnings about CAD are ringing in my head, Laila! I took a risk with another handforged piece - and I only took that risk because they *were* willing to work with me and keep me in the loop... I hope I'm doing the right thing!

I'm really happy with what I'm seeing in those photos, the fluid swoops of the trellis head and the thin and dainty baskets, and the severely angled end-stones - I didn't specify all of those things, and I think realistically there's a limit to what a customer *should* specify, or be expected to specify. At some point it comes down to either a CAD (which still isn't a perfect representation of the final product, and I'm picky enough to care about the disparity) or whether or not the artist understands and shares your vision, and those details are promising. The next stages will be enlightening...

 

[ForteKitty]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, did they cut the wires of the VC ring?

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, did they cut the wires of the VC ring?

Do you mean did they use the same wires, literally? No, the VC ring is still completely intact (except for removing the stones of course), DBL is re-making it with new material and some design changes. I really have no idea what I'll do with the VC afterward!

 

[ForteKitty]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Oh whew. The lighting made it look like the last wire on the VC was severed on the right side.

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Oh whew. The lighting made it look like the last wire on the VC was severed on the right side.

It does, doesn't it? That end prong on the VC is just a single short piece of wire soldered straight into the shank, so it ends abruptly and catches the light like that sometimes - I saw that same effect IRL too. The end-prong/shank/trellis meet is the meat of the reason for this re-design.

 

[maplefemme]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, did they cut the wires of the VC ring?

Do you mean did they use the same wires, literally? No, the VC ring is still completely intact (except for removing the stones of course), DBL is re-making it with new material and some design changes. I really have no idea what I'll do with the VC afterward!

SELL IT TO ME! Actually, if you consider selling it please let me know, Yssie, it's my favorite ring on PS!

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, did they cut the wires of the VC ring?

Do you mean did they use the same wires, literally? No, the VC ring is still completely intact (except for removing the stones of course), DBL is re-making it with new material and some design changes. I really have no idea what I'll do with the VC afterward!

SELL IT TO ME! Actually, if you consider selling it please let me know, Yssie, it's my favorite ring on PS!

Gosh, that's high praise! I'll take credit for the design

There's truly nothing *wrong* with it, at all. It's not to MY aesthetic, and I take issue with some elements of the execution because they don't fit my vision... and, of course, since I'm the one that has to love it, that's a problem!

We'll see I guess! I'm seriously swimming in empty settings

 

[MissStepcut]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, I wish you the best of luck on making your dream a reality. At first I thought you were crazy but now I see what you're talking about, and it would bug me too. The 4th & 5th stones don't look like they're part of the same ring. Which, since making it look more like you and your husband's original 5 stone vision was the whole point of the project, must not seem quite right to you.

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Thanks MissSC Yes, you're seeing what I saw, I believe. I very much hope second time's a charm!

 

[maplefemme]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, did they cut the wires of the VC ring?

Do you mean did they use the same wires, literally? No, the VC ring is still completely intact (except for removing the stones of course), DBL is re-making it with new material and some design changes. I really have no idea what I'll do with the VC afterward!

SELL IT TO ME! Actually, if you consider selling it please let me know, Yssie, it's my favorite ring on PS!

Gosh, that's high praise! I'll take credit for the design

There's truly nothing *wrong* with it, at all. It's not to MY aesthetic, and I take issue with some elements of the execution because they don't fit my vision... and, of course, since I'm the one that has to love it, that's a problem!

We'll see I guess! I'm seriously swimming in empty settings

I'm serious, if you do decide to sell the setting I'm very interested. I know and understand where you're coming from, you have to be happy with it yourself, however, I'd sell my kidney to own it!

 

[decodelighted]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

This thread is useless w/o *NEW* pictures!

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Maplefemme - noted!

This thread is useless w/o *NEW* pictures!

's all I got, yo...

 

[maplefemme]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Maplefemme - noted!

This thread is useless w/o *NEW* pictures!

's all I got, yo...

Yssie, what are you changing in the new DBL version? You have a great eye for design so I can't wait to see this new interpretation of your design. Even now, it's graceful curves are really eye catching.
I hope it's everything you are hoping for!

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, what are you changing in the new DBL version? You have a great eye for design so I can't wait to see this new interpretation of your design. Even now, it's graceful curves are really eye catching.
I hope it's everything you are hoping for!

You know, oddly enough, I'm not quite sure! I went to David and said "these are the things I want fixed", and suggested some ways to do it. The problem is that I don't really have a handle on what's possible and what isn't - and what's a good idea and what isn't - with handforging, vs. the AutoMagical casting design method...

His suggestion was to let the bench do their thing, and see if I liked what they came up with, and if not we could re-evaluate. So that's the plan. And that "see how I like it, and re-evaluate if necessary" bit is SO important to me! David recognised my concerns, as did the bench, so (I certainly believe!) we're all on the same page in that regard.


Haha and there's the little detail that I haven't actually, y'know, *paid* him, but I don't have a bill or the info to do it yet!

 

[armywife13]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

I cannot wait to see how your new setting turns out! The VC version was to die for, so I can only imagine how awesome it will be once you have it exactly how you want.

 

[maplefemme]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, what are you changing in the new DBL version? You have a great eye for design so I can't wait to see this new interpretation of your design. Even now, it's graceful curves are really eye catching.
I hope it's everything you are hoping for!

You know, oddly enough, I'm not quite sure! I went to David and said "these are the things I want fixed", and suggested some ways to do it. The problem is that I don't really have a handle on what's possible and what isn't - and what's a good idea and what isn't - with handforging, vs. the AutoMagical casting design method...

His suggestion was to let the bench do their thing, and see if I liked what they came up with, and if not we could re-evaluate. So that's the plan. And that "see how I like it, and re-evaluate if necessary" bit is SO important to me! David recognised my concerns, as did the bench, so (I certainly believe!) we're all on the same page in that regard.


Haha and there's the little detail that I haven't actually, y'know, *paid* him, but I don't have a bill or the info to do it yet!

Well, when it's right you'll know it. That's great how David and his bench are being so accommodating and you have a good relationship, it's worth it's weight in gold, literally!

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Cheers, armywife!

mf - yeah, it is! And - I think you're right. I'll be on pins and needles waiting for the update on the metal today...

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

I completely missed this! I even looked for a thread yesterday.

It looks like it is off to a great start Yssie. Even in raw form it is beautiful. I love the picture of the setting on his hands. So tiny.

 

[stargurl78]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

I can't wait to see how this turns out, I bet it will be STUNNING!

 

[slg47]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

yssie thanks for sharing the in-the-making pics...really cool! I can't wait to see it...I hope it is everything you want!

 

[MrsBettyBoop]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie, you know if DBL pulls this off, they business is gone be BANGING!

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

HOT- Hehe I felt I owed it to this new ring to give it its own thread And I think it's really pretty too, even before it's been polished or anything


stargurl - Thanks!


slg - I sure hope so!! I got those on Wed, so I assume we'll get shank pics sometime next week, week after? I just sent DBL a pic of the type of trellis-shank attachment I want this morning, we'll see what he says tomorrow!


MrsBetty - If they bring this design to fruition the way it ought to be they'll deserve every bit of business it bings them, and I hope that'll be a lot!

 

[PintoBean]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie! I was surprised when I went into Rocky Talk and saw this new thread! I know I have been busy lately, but now I realize I have been falling behind on my PS threads and need to do a lot of catching up on your other other thread!

I cannot wait to follow this new journey of yours! You have such impeccable design aesthetics !

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

This is the trellis-shank attachment style pic I sent - ltl's upgrade from LM here in the PS archives. I love the way the trellis visibly continues down the shank, and how you can see the difference between shank and trellis elements in-profile And I really like the underside, the way the trellis wires come together before attaching inside the shank...

 

[yssie]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

Yssie! I was surprised when I went into Rocky Talk and saw this new thread! I know I have been busy lately, but now I realize I have been falling behind on my PS threads and need to do a lot of catching up on your other other thread!

I cannot wait to follow this new journey of yours! You have such impeccable design aesthetics !

Thank you Pinto! I'm really glad I decided to take this step.


Can I just be a disappointed customer for a minute and vent a bit? I think I've been doing a good job so far of keeping my feelings in line, but - I'm recognising more and more why this whole situation has upset me so much, and now I'm just feeling even worse I guess part of the problem is that I truly believe that a designer has an obligation to develop a design he/she takes on to its fullest potential - and to keep developing and tweaking until it's *everything* it could be, and more. And I think this is *especially* true of handforging, where there isn't much information available, where new customers simply can't gain the knowledge they'd need to make educated decisions on all the details without prior experience, and where there aren't any CADs or waxes or anything in-between to show you what you're getting into...

VC has done such amazing work for so many other people, and his other pieces thus far have been - truly - impeccable works of art, and, well, I honestly can't help but feel that he dropped the ball on this design - one of his more expensive, no less, from what I understand. The difference is just SO obvious in these pics - in the super clean lines of the LM, the smooth lines of the trellis wires, the way element changes are fluidly integrated, details aside - and both are handmade, so the issues are clearly with vision and planning and execution and not, as I first though, with simply what's possible and what isn't

Now, of course, I'm once bitten twice shy, and I'm driving myself - and probably DBL too - up the wall with my worrying






ETA: just heard back from DBL. That style won't work apparently, but he told me to stop worrying and that they'll make me happy. Amazing how a short email really can make you feel better!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: A hanforging journey - Five-Stone Eight-Prong trellis by

All vendors will have pieces that fall short of expectation and their usual quality standard - this also applies to Leon Mege and Steven Kirsch (I can think of examples but won't share them). Add to this that they may believe they have executed their design fully but their design vision can be different from the customer's vision. It's not easy. Honestly, I think buying a diamond is easier than getting it set.