Combined Countries = busy
3rd December 2019
Last year and again this year Combined Countries have commissioned me to make five year service rings for their members. This means I get really busy ;) Above are 3 of the 12 rings made for last year.
Even though most of the design was already done, the years had to be changed to reflect the period of service for the class of 2019.
One other thing that makes these rings time consuming is the finger size. Each one of these extremely heavy rings has to be built to size. You cannot just make a heap and resize them. The largest so far is Z+4.
Generic ring sizers next to a size draft for this design.
These rings are a classic example of rings that have a very small resize tolerance so getting the size right is critical. The wider a ring is the larger it will have to be to fit the same finger.
Using generic narrow and rounded sizers to measure the finger size for an extremely large ring like this is a recipe for disaster.
Size drafts made specifically for the Combined Countries ring.
To ensure that the sizes are correct I send down size drafts that are the exact imprint of the inside of the ring so that each recipient can find the size that is just right for them. Once selected the rings are individually made to the correct size.
The mess that was bench for most of November.
In the above photo you can see two of the six rings I made for Combined Countries this year in various states of completion. Amongst those rings are quite a few other rings that I was working on that day and we will look at a few now.
Remaking an engagement ring to celebrate a birthday
One of the rings in that photo above was a remake for a very long time customer. She has been with me since her engagement, marriage and birth of her children. Now as those children head to school and she finds a bit of time for herself (sort of) she came to me to remake her engagement ring to mark a birthday.
The original engagement ring had a round main diamond but that was set aside and replaced with a half carat marquise diamond. The round diamond will later be made into a second ring providing two rings so that one can be left to each daughter when the time comes.
Celebrating the birthday of twins
Above is one of two sapphire rings that I also made during November. The rings were for twins, one based in Weipa and the other in South Queensland. The Sapphires used in the rings were heirloom gems and the rings were made as gifts to the ladies from their parents. Once I have the photos of the finished second ring I will add them here.
Presents and surprises
November also saw a lot of pieces made for Christmas go out. As most of them are pieces made by regular customers for their partners or family, who are also regular customers that watch my website, I cannot share the photos until after Christmas. For me it is back to the bench for now..