Blushing Pink Mold For Tetra Rings

I finally got a rubber mold made for my Tetra rings. Here it is in it's nice blushing color of non-shrink rubber.

I did try to do molds myself some time ago in school  and could never really get a nice working one. I think it's an art to cut rubber molds correctly. This one is actually a pretty simple ring shape and not that hard to cut. In comparison some molds I got for my Mermaid rings are awesome with all those undercuts and multi-part pieces. Nowadays I send my masters out to get a professional cut mold. Those work so much better when I do the wax injection. It also saves me from all those bloody cuts in my fingers from the cutting scalpel. If any one cares and want to try it out on their own, here is a pretty good description on how to make molds.

Here the master model and some wax copies from the mold with the injection and casting sprues on them. The master has to be larger than the final intended ring and setting to allow for shrinkage. This pink rubber has less shrinkage that normal rubber (about 2% vs. 8%) but also during the casting  there is shrinkage from the wax to the final cast metal.

This mold will help me to speed up the Tetra ring making for the 10 mm stones. I still have to adjust the settings slightly for some of the stones. There are always slight differences in the trillion shaped stones I got. Some stones have a bit rounder sides or rounded or pointy tips or even deeper or shallower cuts. But adjusting the setting is so much faster after having the main shape already there. Then all else I do is sizing the band in wax correctly and send it out to the caster. I try to avoid sizing and soldering in metal and usually cast every ring to the intended ring size.

Here are a few new Amethyst colors I recently got in darker shades. For the smaller stones and fancy cuts I will still have to hand carve each ring separately and cant use the wax models from the mold.

bye, bye green beauty!

Sometimes it is not easy to be a jeweler. I get so attached to some of the jewels I create. It is hard to let go and send them off to their new destination. Last weekend I fell in love with this green ring. It has a large one-of-a-kind chrome green quartz set in the Rock in Paw design.

When creating a ring I stare at it for hours, trying to imagine the final look. And once it is all finished, I am so proud of this new little character that will hopefully make it's new owner happy.

Pale Blue Chalcedony Ring

Some days when business is slow and I feel in the mood of dreaming about new designs, I take out my box with those gems stones I bought probably 3 to 5 years ago. It feels like going through a treasure box you found at the attic of your parents house. Most stones in there are small; sapphires in different shades, garnets, some rubies, lots of citrines, topazes etc. These days I am more into large stones that make a statement.

Here I found one stone that I did not even knew I had. A beautiful pale blue Chalcedony cabochon measuring 14 mm by 24 mm.  So sleek and modern looking. I played a bit around and designed a ring thats very simple, clean and seamless. Below is a photo of the wax model that will be cast in sterling silver. I might flush set some small blue sapphires or diamonds on the sides of the setting but I am not sure about this yet. I will see how it looks when it is cast in silver. Maybe it will just stay clean with those architectural simple lines, no sparkly add-on needed.

Fancy Cuts

I finally got around to play with some fancy cut gem stones that I had in my treasure box. I designed two one-of-a-kind rings in wax and I can't wait to see them all finished in metal.

The first ring has a triangular fancy shaped tourmaline cabochon that has a incredible blood red color. I found this stone last week at my stone supplier in Downtown LA when I was searching for Morganite stones for a commissioned ring. Anyways this stone really caught my eye and I had to buy it. The tourmaline is 14 mm by 10 mm. I so love tourmalines especially when they have some natural inclusions. The variety of tourmaline colors and it's brilliance are just adorable.

Those asymmetrical lines were just perfect for a very dynamic design that is somewhat based on my Tetra ring collection.  I am not sure yet what metal I will cast this in. This would look so great in a warm yellow gold. But 14kt will be so had to set the stone in and 18kt is probably out of my reach.


The second ring is pretty similar. Here I used a faceted fancy shaped pink sapphire.

This stone I acquired years ago just waiting to find the right design for it. It is 11 mm by 5.5 mm and a bit smaller than the stones I typically use for my ring designs. To give it volume I shaped the sides of the setting in an angle to the stone. Let's see how that works once it is cast in metal.

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The Sky is the Limit - New Rock in Paw Ring with Swiss Blue Octagon Cut Topaz

I am adding some colored stones to my "Rock in Paw" ring collection. This colorful cocktail ring features a vivid faceted octagon cut Swiss Blue Topaz stone in a very unique and sculptural design. Four "Paws" hold the central faceted stone. 

This is a super clean stone with exceptional brilliance. Very fine cut! No visible inclusions. An amazing color and great light reflection. The faceted topaz is 16 x 12 mm (5/8" x 1/2").

The ring is hand carved and the stone hand set by me.  The setting allows the stone to have light enter from all sides to really bring out this amazing color and sparkle. The ring is finished with a high polish shine.

To Purchase from Etsy or go to my web site.

1. DSC_9877, 2. DSC_9872, 3. DSC_9896, 4. DSC_9879

Captured Yellow Citrine Rock Ring

New to the Rock Collection is this beauty, a very organic looking sculptural ring. A gorgeous tumbled large Yellow Citrine gem stone is held in place by six snug fitting sterling silver prongs.

The sides of the silver ring are narrow and the bottom is wider and flat to balance out the heavier top. This way the ring does not slide around but follows the natural contour of the finger. It is a very ergonomic design.

The natural stone in the ring is 31 mm long, 19 mm wide and 13 mm high and shows lot's of inclusions which vary the color of the untreated stone from a cristalline white to a clear yellow. Citrine is a variety of quartz. It is one of three traditional birthstones for the month of November.

To purchase this ring please visit my web site or go to my ETSY store here 

Rocky Weekend

Last weekend was really productive. I had two full days without any distractions and could just enjoy my time in the studio. After finishing some custom order rings, I finally started to work on some of those half finished projects that were starting to pile up on my bench. 

Out came a colorful bunch of rings, all with different kinds of prong settings.

From left to right:

Oval faceted Tourmalinated Quartz, octagon cut Rutilated Quartz with coppery needle inclusions, huge tumbled natural Citrine rock, trillion shape checkerboard cut Rose Quartz and  octagon cut Swiss Blue Topaz. 

The ring with the rutilated quartz and the tumbled citrine are one of a kind creations. The stones are very unique. But I still have two oval tourmalinated quartz of similar size and look, two of the trillion rose quartz (one slightly larger and one smaller) and a blue topaz to be able to offer some custom size creations in the future.

I will now have to work on the photos this week and slowly list all those rings in my shop.