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A look behind the scenes of making a custom version of our “Passion” ring

I thought I would post a little look behind the scenes with a unique custom engagement ring in progress.

Our local customer wanted a custom version of our “Passion” design, shown below in the first four pics. It is a very unique ring design with channel set carre cut (square step cut) diamonds and round micro pave diamonds covering nearly every available area.? This unique engagement ring also features hand wrought filigree.

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We needed to start from scratch as we needed the new ring to fit a 1.50 carat radiant cut diamond ( the original Passion design was designed for about a 3/4 carat asscher, princess cut or radiant cut)

Here are a few photos of the larger version of our ‘Passion” design in our 3-D software. This software provides the ultimate in “What You See is What You Get” technology as you will soon see later in this thread.

Notice the red areas on the under side of the shank and halo elements. These areas will become the sprues or inlet areas for the molten metal during the casting process.

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Once the design is completed in our 3D software, an actual physical prototype of the design is made that can be cast into metal. The results of casting process give us a raw casting of the design, from which, our artisans begin their magic.

Here are a couple photos of the raw casting.

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Raw casting
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Raw casting

Notice how many sprues ( the inflow areas for the molten metal) we built into the design to facilitate a complete casting in the casting process. This is a very important step in the manufacturing process. It allows for uniform filling of the model in the casting process, which makes for problem free castings with no porosity issues or problems that could detract from the durability and longevity of the finished ring.

The raw casting must be prepared for stone setting by filling off the sprues and generally cleaning up the lines of the mounting.

Although it does not look like it, the ring is actually 18 karat white gold, I know it looks yellow in the photos but the metal is not that yellow in real life.

I think it is a combination of the very off white color of 18KWG combined with less than optimal camera settings, lighting, etc.

Most of the starter holes in the casting will need to be opened up some more for the diamonds to fit correctly.

The little beads (prongs) that will hold each little round diamond have to be formed by hand. This is very time consuming to do at the quality level we want on these designs.? This type of setting is called pave or micropave.

Here are a few more pics of the ring at about half way stage of completion.

The platinum filigree was added on the inside of the ring.

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Platinum hand made filigree is assembled inside of ring shank

Approx 1/2 of the small round diamonds are set

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One channel of the Carre cuts are channel set.

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Still a lot of work to go…

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Once all the diamonds are set, all of the refining of the details and finishing touches must be applied.

Just the diamond setting labor (not counting design work, prototyping, casting) for a ring with this level of hand work will have approx 32 man hours of labor when finished.

After the diamonds have been set, the goldsmith will start to form borders around the diamonds (bright cutting) as well as preparing the intended areas of the ring design for milgraining.

Well done milgraining by hand is very time consuming as the diamond setter must first form a sharp ridge or rail (see red arrows in examples 1 & 2) around the area where the diamonds are set.

This cutting or forming of the ridge (or simply a border in some cases) is called bright-cutting, as the goldsmith uses a sharp tool (graver) to form a pointed ridge or rail that will later be worked or formed down into a beaded edge (mil-graining) using a mil-grain tool.

As usual the trick to anything that is well done is in the preparation.

Finally, after all the diamonds are set and the borders around the diamond sections are carefully formed by hand (brightcut) and the bright-cutting of the rails for mil-graining are completed, the ring is meticulously polished and prepared for the final step in the process which is the mil-graining.

Here are the final pics of the completed ring:

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Here is the link the ring’s product page on our website which has a Hi-Def Video of the ring.

Platinum – The Ideal Metal

When customers ask what our metal of choice is for their engagement ring, they will always be told Platinum. Platinum has many desirable attributes that will make your ring look spectacular and last a life time.

For reference sake, we use 950 Platinum Ruthenium, which has the best combination of tensile strength (durability) and scratch resistance compared to other Platinum alloys.

Platinum is hands down the best metal to use in jewelry. It’s a very heavy, dense metal, providing a strong hold on stones and solid structural integrity. Platinum does not wear down like other precious metals. When scratched, the metal is actually displaced and pushed elsewhere on the ring, not rubbed or worn off. This characteristic puts Platinum in a class of it’s own, making it suitable for everyday wear over a lifetime and maintaining the greatest security for your gemstones.

Platinum is and will always be white. It will never yellow like white gold, which requires Rhodium plating. It will never tarnish like silver either. Platinum’s natural white color is ideal for settings, from colorless diamonds to vibrant gemstones.

Platinum is also hypoallergenic unlike common white gold alloys which contain nickel. Imagine your finance not being able to wear her ring because she’s allergic to it.

Platinum does not react with Chlorine, unlike white gold, which will corrode and discolor. Chlorine is found in pools, hot tubs, and common house cleaning chemicals.

When making a decision on the right ring, make sure you understand what it’s made of. We want your setting to last a lifetime, protecting the valuable gemstones it holds. No metal does this better then Platinum. With a platinum engagement ring, you don’t have to worry about allergic reactions, chemical breakdowns, or yellowing color. Make Platinum your metal of choice for life.

All About White Gold.

What is White Gold?
How is White Gold Made?
What is The Best White Gold?
What is White Gold Alloyed With?
Are All White Golds the Same?

First, an explanation of white gold and gold alloying. 14K gold is alloyed with other metals to achieve certain colors and/or workability attributes (malleability, ductility, etc.).

The different colors are self explanatory E.g.; whiter alloys such as silver or nickel mask the natural yellow of pure gold. Workability characteristics will vary considerably depending on the mix of the alloy metals. Pure gold is very malleable and easily worked into various shapes, forms, wires, etc. However, pure gold (24K) is generally considered too soft for rings. Almost all yellow gold blends are much more workable and ductile than their white gold counterparts. Most white golds are alloyed with nickel, a very white and very hard metal.

The ideal workability attributes necessary for a hand wrought item will often require a different mix of alloy metals than the normal mix of alloys for a cast item. Some of the popular alloy metals for white gold are copper, silver, zinc, nickel and in some of the newer blends, Palladium.

The white Gold blends that are alloyed with palladium are growing in popularity as they provide very workable castings and at the same time avoid many of the negatives issues associated with Nickel alloy mixes. It should be noted that these Palladium white Gold blends are typically not as bright white as some of the high nickel content blends.

14K white gold is 58% pure gold. The other 42% of metals used to make the 14K white gold and help mask the yellow of the predominant metal (58% pure gold) will vary considerably as the various gold manufacturers and casters look to develop gold blends with the best mix of whiteness and wear attributes. The same holds true for 18k White Gold, which is 75% pure gold.

Refiners, manufacturers, and jewelers experiment to find the optimal mix of alloys for their applications.Historically, some of the whiter blends of white gold have been some of the poorer performing alloys with regard to durability and longevity of jewelry items. The problems stem from the difficulty of mixing the different alloys to combine and make a homogeneous blend of metals that will be workable, malleable and otherwise suitable for jewelry making.

This is an immensely complicated issue as any change in casting temperatures or any change in the complex casting process can have an effect on the malleability, workability of the cast metal. It is quite common to have casting problems in white gold that may lead to future problems with the item of jewelry, two of the big problems are:

(1)Porosity in the metal. Actual voids or unfilled areas in the casting that lead to weakness or even failure of the cast item.

(2)Brittleness or lack of ductility.

Nickel has been a very popular alloy metal to use for white gold because of the very white color and the hardness it gives the white gold alloy. However, many white gold alloys that contain nickel may not be optimal for smaller elements of jewelry designs such as crowns (the prong elements that are used to hold diamonds) as these smaller elements may be prone to weakening and eventual breakdown due to the corrosive behavior of nickel in these white gold alloys, especially in conjunction with any exposure to environments that have chlorine such as pools, spas, etc.

It should be mentioned that nickel is also associated with allergic reactions which is not a good thing to have happen with an engagement ring or wedding band.

There have been many recent advances in new white gold alloys from? the major precious metal refiners that service the jewelry manufacturing industry, all trying to find that magic mix that will remedy the above mentioned problems in many white gold mixes and provide a workable and white mix.

Stuller Settings, a major manufacturer and supplier to jewelry stores : http://www.stuller.com/apps/images/kbpdfs/x1.pdf has a new blend of white gold called X-1 that is very white. Other refiners and manufacturers are also coming out with versions.

Bottom line, if you are considering a white gold jewelry item, be sure your jeweler is aware of the many recent advancements and products available. If your jeweler is aware of these choices they should also be able to recommend the optimal blend for the application as there may be design specific issues that could affect the choice.

How often will my white gold ring need to be rhodium plated?

What is rhodium plating?
Does white gold discolor or turn yellow over time?
Are all white gold rings rhodium plated?
How much does it cost to rhodium plate a ring?
How long does rhodium plating last?

With the recent popularity of white metals, we are asked similar questions more and more frequently. The answers depends on several factors that I will explain below.

Our current cost as of December 2015 for rhodium plating starts at $53 per piece. This includes cleaning and polishing. To have Knox rhodium plate your jewelry, contact us here.

Rhodium plating or “dipping” is the standard in our industry to make white gold items white.  Nearly all white gold jewelry sold in the U.S. market is rhodium plated.  All 14k and 18k white golds are alloyed with other white metals to achieve a white look. Given that both of these alloys are predominantly pure yellow gold (14k is 58.5% pure and 18k is 75% pure), the resulting color isn’t absolutely white like platinum. In order to provide a beautiful bleached white color, white gold is plated with a platinum group metal called rhodium. This rhodium plating is a non-permanent metal deposition process that can be done while you wait at most jewelry stores.

The actual layer or coat of rhodium, which is applied in an electroplating process, is microscopic (maybe a few microns thick) and will eventually wear off. Body chemistry, excessive sweat, occupational and lifestyle wear, and chlorine can all shorten the life of rhodium plating. A new rhodium plating should last six months to a year on a ring until the plating will be noticeably diminished. The yellowing of the bottom of the ring is usually the first noticeable sign that your rhodium plating is wearing thin. Areas with diamonds, filigree, or engraving will retain the rhodium finish longer as these areas receive less wear. Also, rings with large polished areas will make the inevitable wearing away of the rhodium finish more noticeable. Rhodium plating on pendants and earrings will last much longer as they aren’t exposed to as much wear and tear or skin oils.

To properly rhodium plate an item, the item should first be polished and then thoroughly cleaned via an ultrasonic bath and a distilled water steaming. It is paramount that it is absolutely free of any dirt, oil, and polishing compound before it is plated. After this cleaning, the item should also go through an electro-cleaning process. This final step will help ensure proper rhodium adhesion as the heated cleaning solution is activated by electricity. If there are yellow or rose gold elements in the jewelry, they will need to be masked with a non-permeable substance (fingernail polish is popular) so those areas are not plated white.

Like anything else, results will vary, especially if shortcuts are taken. If fewer of the above described cleaning steps are used in the process, the rhodium finish could prematurely wear off.

In the last few years rhodium plating has become a more expensive service to provide as rhodium prices have sky-rocketed to $6000.00 per ounce. Expect to pay between $25.00 to $60.00 for a complete polishing, cleaning, and Rhodium plating of a ring. Two tone designs may be more due to the necessity of masking the areas that are not to be plated.

Conflict Diamonds, another part of the story.

  1. An estimated 5 million people have access to appropriate healthcare globally thanks to revenues from diamonds.
  2. Conflict diamonds have been reduced from approximately 4% to considerably less than 1% since the implementation of the Kimberley Process in 2003.
  3. An estimated 10 million people globally are directly or indirectly supported by the diamond industry
  4. The diamond mining industry generates over 40% of Namibia’s annual export earnings
  5. Diamond revenues enable every child in Botswana to receive free education up to the age of 13.
  6. In July 2000, the global diamond industry announced its zero-tolerance policy towards conflict diamonds and continues to drive this policy.
  7. Sierra Leone is now at peace and exported approximately $142 million diamonds in 2005
  8. Approximately one million people are employed by the diamond industry in India.
  9. Approximately $8.4 billion worth of diamonds a year come from African countries.
  10. More than 99% of diamonds are now from conflict free sources and traded under the UN-mandated Kimberley Process.
  11. The Diamond Development Initiative was established to improve the working conditions of artisanal miners.
  12. The revenue from diamonds is instrumental in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
  13. Under the Kimberley Process, rough diamonds can only be exported and imported when accompanied by a certificate from the exporting country.
  14. The charity Jewelers for Children funds a community based care program for orphaned children in South Africa.
  15. An estimated 65% of the world’s diamonds come from African countries.
  16. Today, 71 governments and the legitimate diamond industry are all committed and legally bound to eradicating conflict diamonds.
  17. The diamond industry has introduced a system to help give greater assurances to retailers and to provide consumers with the reassurance that their diamond is from a conflict free source.
  18. Diamonds account for 33% of the GDP (approximately $3 billion) of Botswana. Since diamonds were discovered in Botswana, GDP annual growth rate has averaged 7%.
  19. Major world leaders – including Nelson Mandela – have cited the importance of diamonds to the lives of African people.
  20. It is estimated that one million people work in the informal (astisanal) alluvial diamond digging sector.
  21. Some diamond producing countries are not Kimberley Process compliant.
  22. In November, 2006, 71 Governments, leading NGOs, and the World Diamond Council agreed on measures to further strengthen the Kimberley Process.
  23. At the 2006 Kimberley Process Plenary, the industry committed funds and resources to address challenges faced by countries with a high prevalence of artisanal alluvial mining.