The Anatomy of a Wedding Set

Commissions are fun to do. Stressful, but fun. The sweetest girl named Jill asked me to custom make her & her beloved a wedding set similar to one of the designs in my shop.
I was so honored to be chosen to make something so special, I thought I would share the process......





First I had to build the stock for the bands in flat pieces. Getting the pieces of stock to cooperate and lie flat is tricky sometimes but that is where a good rawhide mallet comes into play.
This picture shows the two pieces made for the rings. The one on the left is after the silver has been picked & the one on the right is before pickle, just after soldering with all the flux still on the silver. It looks bad at first but as you can see the pickle cleans it up nicely.

Then the next step is to cut the new stock to length & shape around the mandrel to make rings. The ends have to be filed & fitted several times to make sure they fit just right so the solder join is strong. A rawhide mallet works best to shape the rings as it does not mar the outer surface design of the metal.
This is a picture of the rings finished but before the patina has been added. I soldered in a 14kt white gold bezel for the diamond. The gold is stronger & more durable than the silver so it is best to set valuable stones in a harder metal.
It also makes the stone harder to set as the bezel takes much more pressure to turn over the stone.
The rings look nice in this matte finish. Just a brass brush & some steel wool to make them nice and clean & smooth for the patina.
You know me... I can't seem to call something finished unless I dip it in patina.

The patina took several layers of process. One was an overall patina where I then polished off the middle high spots. Then the outer ring edges had to be sanded smooth & re- patinaed twice to get a nice even color. I painted the patina on with a paint brush on the final step.
Into the tumble for a nice polish & then I set the stone. I think they turned out very nice. I hope Jill and Barrie like them & wear them in good health for many happy years!

Comments

Holly Wilcox said…
they're beautiful! (:
Jill said…
Thank you so very much, Joanna, for making these for us! They are beautiful and look exactly how I had envisioned them when I described them to you. We are very excited and grateful. :)

-Jill & Barrie
Carmen said…
These are beautiful! I see you are in Palm Beach County. We're having a get together for artists/crafters this weekend. We have another jewelry artist that will be there!

You can see more on the Treasure Coast Women's Art Alliance Blog!

http://tcwaa.blogspot.com

I'm adding you to my blog feed. Love your work. Would love to see it in person!

Warmly,
Carmen Torbus
Recreationalart said…
Hey! These are such elegant creations!
I have given you a blog award! Stop by my blog to pick it up!! Hope you have a great day
Rose XD
K said…
Oh wow! These wedding bands are so beautiful!

I just found your blog when I was trying to find a peridot ring online, and I have to say, I really love your jewelry!

I'm a poor college student right now, but eventually I'll definitely be buying stuff from you!!
Dani said…
Stunning! And I loved that you shared your process.
Anonymous said…
They are beautiful and I can't imagine the couple won't be thrilled.

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