Creating for distant customers
25th June 2021 - Customer location: Nowra NSW
950 Platinum engagement ring and wedding ring set.
I generally try to limit the amount of pieces I am working on at any one time to about 10. This week 8 of those ten pieces were for customers not in Cairns. The three rings above went to Nowra in NSW on Wednesday and I thought I would share with you how they were custom designed, sized and created from a distance.
Designing the engagement ring
Back in 2020 for the surprise engagement ring I was given a start design and a budget. After some discussion via email about diamond quality and precious metal I submitted what I could provide to that budget and it was approved.
The images you can see above are how the desired design ( original showed a much larger diamond outside the budget) translated to the diamond size within the budget and the recipients approximate finger size.
Article: Those damn hand models
The benefit of the proposal ring
The 18ct white gold proposal ring made back in 2020.
It was always intended to create the ring the recipient would wear the rest of her life in 950 Platinum. However the ring used for the surprise proposal was made in 18ct white gold. The reason for this is that the proposal ring remake to the correct finger size is built into all the prices I quote and it is far more cost effective for me to scrap white gold than platinum.
Article: The Proposal ring
Knowing that the proposal ring will be scrapped we can resize and alter it without worrying about the long term damage resizing does to a ring, no matter how good you are at resizing.
Article: Why you should avoid resizing a new ring
Article: Rings that cannot/should not be resized
Planning for the wedding ring
Knife edge wedding ring.
The proposal ring process I use allows for both the surprise proposal and the planning of the wedding ring which is a vital part of making any bridal set.
Before I remake any proposal ring I design the wedding ring with the customer. This enables me to make any changes required to the engagement during the proposal ring remake.
For the sake of privacy I have cropped and converted all the hand photos I am going to use in this post to black and white outlines. Hopefully you still get the idea.
The wedding ring design is then archived until closer to the wedding. I meet many people with engagement rings purchased elsewhere that will not suit the wedding ring they are asking me to make. Often simple changes to the design of the engagement ring at the time of creation could have changed that.
Article: Why I often recommend someone else make your wedding ring
How about his ring?
Deciding on the width of the ring.
For his ring I created the design digitally, edited it into a photo of his hand to scale allowing him select the width that he thought looked best. Once a shape and width for the ring were confirmed I emailed him a quote.
Getting his size just right with a few drafts
Generic ring sizers. Good for a starting point…not much more
The wider a ring is the larger it will need to be to fit the same finger and the inverse as the ring gets narrower. That is why using generic finger sizers often leads to the wrong size and why I do not use them for anything other to get an initial size to be confirmed later. Different width = different ring size for the same finger
Ring size draft sent Express Post to Nowra.
To make sure that the size is just right I create sizers that are the same width and shape of the desired design and Express Post them to out of town customer so that they can select one that wears the best.
Freight bags are quick, inexpensive and for a lot my customers more convenient than having to book an appointment at my studio. I have been using this method for well over 10 years now and given the advent of COVID ……..it is a handy system to have.
This extra step avoids any chance of the ring having to be resized or worse still totally remade if it cannot be resized at all.
Struck Island, Thornton Beach, Daintree.
Before I go, from My World this week Struck Island in the Daintree. It has been over 40 years since I last visited the Daintree. Last weekend I spent a wonderful evening on the beach with my wife as we watched the sunset cast its colour on Struck Island. Have a great weekend.
