Let’s go through all the stages of making a precious ring together with a jeweler.You probably know that gold rings are made not only from gold. Various ligatures are added to this soft metal so that the future ring comes out of one or another purity, metal color, etc.

 

Stage 1. Preparing Sketches 

Making rings begins with creating a sketch. A designer draws the future product from several angles to achieve the ideal variation. Interestingly, the hardest thing for him/her will be balancing between their own fantasy and reality. After all, the designer understands that their dream needs to be fulfilled, cast in metal.

Designers and technologists (people who check whether it will be possible to implement design solutions) should feel each other’s profession. The technologist has to evaluate the model proposed by the designer in terms of whether it can be implemented. A good technologist will almost always see an opportunity to simplify a piece of too complex shape, that is, to split it up into several parts that are made separately and then fastened together.

 

Stage 2. Forming a Master Model

When the designer has decided on the appearance of the ring, and the technologist approved it, you need to make a master model. It is a cast that shows how the ring will look after production. Several materials are used at this stage:

  • The model can be made in silver or a non-precious alloy. The finished future ring is baked in rubber, then the master takes the model out of this rubber.
  • If the jewelry is unique and does not need mass production, the model is made from a cheaper and simpler material — wax. 
  • The most popular, but rather expensive method today is considered to be printing a model on a 3D printer. A special program gives the master a lot of opportunities, the main one of which is the ability to see the product in advance before it is ready.

 

Stage 3. Preparing the Christmas Tree

Outwardly, the result of casting in gold is very similar to a Christmas tree. During production, it is irrational to cast each piece one at a time. Therefore, the craftsmen take a thick rod, hang 20 or 30 models on it and bake this Christmas tree wrapped in a layer of clay. Once the process is complete, the wax melts and flows out of the tree, leaving only voids that will then need to be filled with jewelry.

 

Stage 4. Casting

The molten metals are thoroughly mixed. This is a responsible job, as the artisan must achieve homogeneity of the alloy. Once the alloy is ready, it is poured into the voids prepared.

 

Stage 5. Taking out the Rings

After the molten metal has hardened well, the master rinses off the clay layer with a high-pressure water jet. 

 

Step 6. Optional. Assembling

Sometimes a product has such a fancy design that several parts are required to make it. After casting, these parts need to be bonded into a single whole. The assemblers are engaged in this responsible work. These guys put the ring together, carefully solder the parts, and are responsible for making the product look almost finished. 

 

Stage 7. Making It Shiny

When the master takes out the rings from clay, they look very unpresentable. To give the accessories a truly jewelry look, the craftsmen grind and polish them. Not everyone knows what the difference is between these concepts:

  • grinding — the process of initial, rough processing of the product; with its help, defects are eliminated;
  • polishing is the final process of making the product bright and shiny.

 

Stage 8. Submitting for Verification

A finished product made of gold cannot be recognized as such until a special responsible body puts its mark on it. This body is the Assay Office. In this institution, the conscientiousness of the jeweler is checked: whether the product corresponds to the declared purity, is it really gold as much as the jeweler says. 

 

Step 9, Optional. Inlay

If the designer assumes that the ring is made only of metal, there are no issues, the process is over. But if stones are required, then the next stage is the setting of stones. First, a gemologist must pick up gems. This is a complex process: the stones must be ideally matched in color, size, etc. Then the fixer installs them in the grooves and seals them.

As you can see, every step is crucial to make the perfect piece of jewelry. And the better and more qualitatively each step is performed, the more perfect product you will be able to acquire in the end.