December 3rd 2016

Thought I would talk about the draft process I use today. The creation of this ring is a good example of how it ensured that the end result was just right.

My customer had a diamond set wedding ring. Due to the size of the diamonds set into the wedding ring it had been made at a thickness of 2.2mm. You will see a photo of this a bit later. It really is quite thick for a womens ring.

Having lost her engagement ring I was asked to make a replacement ring using a 1 carat pink sapphire. She had found a design she liked so I set about adapting it to her finger and sapphire size. To the right is the design I presented to her that was approved.

Now I was ready to make the draft which performs these important tasks:

• allows the customer to try on the ring before we make it
• allow us to confirm the finger size
• I get to refine the manufacturing process of that particular design if needed
• flaws/required changes in the design can be spotted

In this case with the draft I discovered that I had not allowed enough thickness in the ring band to match the wedding ring. The customer was still wearing the wedding ring so I was working without it from notes as I made the draft. You can see in this photo of the draft (gold plated sterling silver) next to the wedding ring that I needed to increase the thickness for it to match perfectly.

The rest of the design was spot on so I was now ready to make the ring. In isolation the band of the sapphire ring seems way too thick but now you can see that it is made to that thickness to match the existing wedding ring. The ring was made in 18ct yellow gold with grain set diamonds in the scrolled shoulders. 

Next article I am going to share with you is about how the draft works very well in highlighting aspects of designs that my customers have not noticed when looking at photos during the design process.