October 6th 2015

Size matters

I often mention on this website the importance of scale in design. When you have seen a design that you want to create to you finger size and gemstone preference it is important to understand how changes effect the design.

To show my customers this I digitally edit the original design. We are going to run through a great example today. My customers knew the diamond quality and size in their budget and once I knew her finger size I was able to do this mockup of the design. 

Refining the design

My customers could immediately see the difference in the design, changes that they liked. With an overall idea of the ring we could now fine tune the design. The customer wanted the sections that swept up to and around the diamond finer. The image was edited further to reflect this.

This design has some asymmetry intentionally placed into it. You will notice in the photo below that the left side is noticeably thicker than the right.

The design in 3D

Next step in the design process was to finalise the side view. To do this we move from designing in 2D to 3D. Using the 2D image I recreated the ring in 3D.


With a 3D model now created we could explore the side aspects of the design. This design is quite fine so one of the main considerations was to make sure that the diamond is secure. The original design had an open look in the side view, a hybrid rap around tension setting. Something like that shown below.

Making the ring to last

The way that the sweeps met the band I felt did not support the diamond enough, after all this is an engagement ring that was to be worn everyday. I came up with an option that would give exactly the same view from the top but provide the support I desired to secure the diamond safely.

Selecting the colour combination

With the design near completion we now introduced colour in a video that allowed the customer to view the ring at all angles and to decide on the colour scheme. The colours in the video are only to be used as an indication of contrast. To avoid the distortion of colours that often occurs in photos and digital renders I prepared samples of the 18ct rose and white gold alloys for her to view side by side in my studio.

The silver draft

My customer decided to use the original colour scheme with the predominant alloy to be 18ct palladium white gold. The next step was to confirm the design and finger size.

For this I created a draft of the design in sterling silver and set a cubic zirconia into it. The drafts have to be created quite quickly so the finish is a little rough but they serve the purpose of allowing the customer to try on the ring before I make it, one last safety check to ensure that the finger size is correct and that the end result is exactly what the customer desires. 

The finished ring

The final step is to create the ring. The ring was made in 18ct Palladium white gold for the band and 18ct Rose gold for the sweeping gold. The diamond is a GIA lab certified .41 carat round brilliant cut of E colour, Si1 clarity with triple excellent grades for cut, polish and symmetry.

In this case the couple did the design process together with me up until the silver draft. This allowed the finished ring to be a surprise for the proposal at Niagara Falls.

For those men that want the proposal to be a total surprise but to also be able to design the ring with their partner there is another option that I offer. Many of my customers choose this service for a surprise engagement ring and I will write more about it in a future article.