5th March 2021 - Customer location: Cairns

This couple have been married for a long time and decided to have a totally new engagement ring made. She had seen the design above online but works in health so the height was a bit of a concern to her and wanted to make the main diamond lower.

Another aspect of the design that we would change was the super fine edges along the diamonds in the band. An edge that fine if bumped would surely be damaged. Making that edge wider would be more practical for her lifestyle.

Altering the design digitally

As we lowered the height of the ring we did lose the ability to set diamonds into the band as it passes under the claws. This was a tradeoff that the customer was prepared to accept. A benefit of the reduced height was that it made the main setting more secure.

The great benefit of the draft stage

Before I make the final piece I nearly always make a draft. Usually I create them in silver but for this job I used 18ct yellow gold. At the draft stage we resized the ring until the size was perfect. The customer also decided to make another change which we will look at next.

Refining the design back in good old photoshop

During the design process it is sometimes difficult for customers to fully perceive how that ring will translate into metal. When the customer put the draft ring on she thought she would like the curve reduced slightly.

I took a photo of the draft and edited it until the customer liked the altered curve in the band. I then created the final ring to the exact finger size we had also determined using the draft. As you can tell from the photo the change is slight with the curve in the band.

You will notice with the drafts that I usually do not final set the main gem and for this ring only set one side of the band. The customer was able to use here imagination :)

The finished ring

The main gem is a .60 carat round brilliant cut diamond. The gem is GIA certified E colour and Si1 clarity. It has the highest grade of “Excellent” for cut, polish and symmetry. The setting is 18ct yellow gold.

My World this week

The beautiful place in the my world for this week is one I shared with a friend recently. I took him with me on one of my outings in the Ravenshoe district. He likes to take photos as well and we have been planning to take this trip for the best part of a year now. We spent a couple of days roaming some of my favourite spots trying not to get his Land Cruiser bogged or drowned.

Whilst the waterfalls there at the moment are flowing too heavily for my liking some of the surrounding bush is truly beautiful when it is wet and a little sunshine pours down onto it. Have a great weekend and hopefully it is not too wet.