Unusual job on the bench today

[ecain63]

With the Christmas rush upon me I'm knocking out commissions on a daily basis currently. Yesterday I made another of my signature bangles using the customers own scrap gold and diamonds. Today I've been making this......

It's maybe not everyone's cup of tea style wise but as set it works well. The difficulty with this build was that I couldn't just copy the existing band like for like. The engagement ring only fits one way due to it being handmade and the notches in the V have to be perfect if they are to sit right.

























































The band thickness at the base is to be assessed by the customer tomorrow. As the other 2 items are a little worn I'll leave it at full thickness for now so that they have the option of longevity or 'in keeping'

[ecain63]

I promise, this is the last picture feed of 2017 from the UJOTB thread The Christmas season is upon us so ecain63 is doing his damnedest to keep his head and the customers catered for. It's been great seeing a few of you in the shop over the past few days too.

We took a vintage bangle in the other day that needed the sapphire reset after the claws worn down to the bases. The metalwork is 18ct white gold with a platinum top piece set with old cut diamonds:

After cutting the old claws back and creating fresh bases for the new ones I soldered a full set of 18ct white claws in place. Soldering platinum claws in would be too risky for the diamonds due to the higher melting temperature of the solder. 18ct works just fine in this situation. The white residue on the diamonds and metal is our old faithful Borax.



Here is our sapphire. Approx 2ct of stunning natural material. It's an old cut and looking from the underside you can see the natural growth lines.



With a bit of tweaking the stone sits perfectly in the new setting:



The new claws are pressed over the stone and then cut back to length:



The claws are then shaped to suit:







The item is then left to sit in a cold acid solution to remove the Borax and any burnt rubbish.



It's then polished and plated ready for the customer:







Another job from this month: Making 18ct yellow and white gold Angel wings. The customer had a base metal set that they had originally asked to have plated, but eventually decided to go for the gold versions on the grounds that they won't tarnish so easily:

Here are the base metal versions. One (white) is glued to the top of an 18ct white gold plate that is 2mm thick. I then use a fine hand-saw to cut the shape out of the gold:





Then the yellow one is cut out of a 2mm thick bar of 18ct yellow gold:



With the shapes cut the next step is hand engraving the feathers. Blue marker is used as a guide:
















Appropriate coloured 18ct rings are then soldered to the top of each wing before being polished and plated:





Done




We've been in our new workshop coming to a year now (Dec 26th). It's been a good year, undoubtedly the best year we've experienced to date, on every level. Much of this is thanks to you. The fact that you guys and girls actually read and comment on this thread gets me through the week in what is actually a pretty monotonous job at times. Writing the updates and posting the pics helps me route out the enjoyable bits in my day, so thank you for giving me a purpose in what I do. It's also been good to meet many of you and I hope this continues into the future. I hope you all have a great festive season and a fantastic 2018, Eddie.

Edited by ecain63 on Saturday 16th December 20:58

[ecain63]

Butter Face said:

Have a great Christmas and new year Eddie. I’ve managed to keep the present all hidden, just another week or so!

Ha! Yours has probably been on the boil longer than any customer I've ever had. I really hope she shares the same excitement you do on the day. Have a great one!

Edited by ecain63 on Saturday 16th December 21:19

[ecain63]

Happy New Year all. Hope you had a great Christmas and a well deserved break.

Wasting no time, here is the first of the pic worthy jobs of 2018:

A customer brought in her now obsolete 18ct white gold engagement ring and immediately moved in with a desire to sell it. Material value vs high street retail value isn't huge so I suggested she had it redesigned and remade so she could at least use it.

Firstly the gold is melted down and rolled into a bar:



Missed a pic here, but basically I rolled the metal down to the desired guage and then did a bit of bending and cutting. The Heart shape takes form.....





The off-cuts are put to one side and then used to make the bale:





This is then shaped, cut and soldered to the heart:



Next I have to add the diamond that was once the feature point of the ring:





Marking out where the diamond will sit a hole is drilled and then claws added to secure it:





The claws are trimmed back and the heart prepped for polishing and plating:









Eddie

[ecain63]

I also put this together before Christmas. It's an item we will be selling for Charity:

[ecain63]

NDA said:

Love the shape of that stone.... What percentage of stones come in that shape? I imagine quite a rare thing....

Plenty around. Not the same volume as a brilliant cut or princess cut but still a readily available shape.

The beauty of this particular stone is it's spread. It's a shallow stone so it looks much bigger than it is. It's a 1.22ct G VVS but looks like a 1.7ct+ E/F VVS thanks to its 11.5mm X 6mm proportions. Lots of stone to the eye but at smaller stone value.

[ecain63]

CardShark said:

I've been to Coober Pedy, my lasting memory of the place was the huge mole-hill piles of stone and rock everywhere where individual minors had been trying their luck. Proper dust-bowl of a town and quite interesting to visit.

If it's not a daft question, what's the purpose of the valuation? I presume that you paid trade for it, would the valuation provide some kind of certificate of authenticity and a retail value for insurance purposes for whoever eventually bought the stone from you?

Great work as always, that diamond is a stunner!

Afternoon

The purpose of the valuation was to give me an idea of what I was taking on. The stone is a bit special and quite large so working out a value from my limited knowledge (of opals) was too much of a stab in the dark. The opal, the marquee cut diamond, a 1.6ct brilliant cut, and some other bits and bobs have all been handed to me by an old customer who recently lost his wife. He's got stacks of capital so has chosen to sell her jewellery through me to then pass it on to a local children's charity. In order for me to price it all for a reasonably quick sale I needed to get it all valued and certified, which answers your last question.

The opal came in at £4k + vat so will go out at £5k. Retail would be well into 5 figures.

The lab had originally suggested a 5 figure trade price but a couple of sand marks in the face dropped it down a peg.

Edited by ecain63 on Thursday 4th January 16:48

[ecain63]

CardShark said:

Thank you for answering my question, much appreciated.

I've quoted the above because it has made me realise exactly what you do. Maybe I'm a tad slow on the uptake however it's just dawned on me that this isn't just about the immense skill, patience and technical ability of making an item of jewellery, it's actually about the trust that many people place in you to be able to create their vision. It's your professionalism and personal touch that people come to you for, to have such a customer as the one above trust you with the most personal of possessions must (I'd presume!) feel like a huge privilege.

You don't create mere rings, bracelets and the like. You create memories, keepsakes and the most treasured of personal items that far exceed their Pound Sterling value.

Happy New Year to you

It does indeed. As with any retail or public facing business you see such a broad spectrum of human existence. The majority come and go without fuss, happy that they have achieved their aim and have gone away feeling they have been well looked after... or better. Some appear with expectations that cannot be met, but you can't win them all.

Then you get the people (not customers in my eyes) that immediately stir your interests with their smile. There's something about a genuine, full bodied smile that tells you everything you need to know about how the next part of your relationship will pan out. It's these individuals that I take the majority of my pleasure from working with. The gentleman with the above items has been a visitor to my business for many years and I knew his late wife reasonably well. You couldn't meet a nicer chap and the stories he tells can captivate young and old for as long as he can reel them off. I am normally incredibly busy at work and can't afford too much time in the shop front but I can lose hours with this guy.... not that 'losing' is the right term as I'm gaining in hearing his stories and am bowled over in seeing him in his element as a human being. It's pleasure to be part of his day.

It's a rare thing these days to hear a story that lasts so long, with so many facets as many people have lost the ability of communication beyond smartphones and keyboards. You wouldn't be wrong in assuming a generational shift and many of these fantastic characters are passing on due to ill health etc. Natural I know but still a real shame.

The trust thing is what people like this naturally possess. Always seeing the better side of life and intuitively steering away from those who may be of hindrance rather than help. I do take great comfort from the fact that I have customers who trust me with items of such sentimental and emotional value and I can only hope they feel the trust has been repaid by my efforts.

Thanks for your kind words CardShark Happy New Year also.

[ecain63]

In keeping with the sentimental builds: Here is a silver ring built to contain the ashes of a loved one and also include the use of topaz, the birthstone of the deceased.

A simple split shank was made:



The capsule used to hold the ashes is then made by opening out a tube of silver with a punch:



The cone is soldered in place and the base sealed with a silver wire and some solder:



After a quick clean:



The lid of the capsule is then punched out of silver plate before being domed:





You can see inside the edge of the capsule I have made a groove to seat the cap:



Here are the ashes:



Of which a small amount is placed in the capsule:




The cap is placed on top and soldered in place using a low temperature 'soft solder'. The same as is used in electrical applications. This saved burning out the ashes:





The edges are pressed round the cap to smarted it up and it's then ready for the shoulder stones to go in:



I'll put 3 stones in each shoulder. The holes are drilled (2 at first for no reason other than it felt best to start with 2) and the settings marked out:





Then the stones are set:







The whole thing is polished and the stones and capsule checked for securitr. Job done









Eddie



The same customer will also recieve this from her kids. This the thinking jewellers method of making a name pendent. Simply print out the desired font of the right size and superglue to a plate of the required thickness metal. Cut out with a hand saw and tidy up, Loops get soldered on and a chain fitted........

It's actually one of the most time consuming jobs you can do and you break endless saw blades. Looks simple, but it's a pain. Sigh!!

[ecain63]

Hoping to get a post up here this week as I have just produced a piece for a PHer that has been sanctioned and approved by a Premiership football team

[ecain63]

Access denied. Oh well, still a great day for me to even gain the permission.

[ecain63]

Yep, it can definitely pay to be honest...... even if it is limiting in other ways. Definitely better than being hung, drawn and quartered

[ecain63]

I think maybe guilty by association?

[ecain63]

evoivboy said:

ecain63 said:

I think maybe guilty by association?

yes maybe, shame as it's a work of art

When she gets it does that mean she can't post pics on faceache etc?

You are my customer, she is not

[ecain63]

I've got a platinum crossover ring build to upload here later this week, but as compensation for the non-post football item here is a platinum band we made up to match an existing one ......

[ecain63]

Blackpuddin said:

evoivboy said:

ecain63 said:

Access denied. Oh well, still a great day for me to even gain the permission.

Hmmmm....Does that stop me posting it?

What a contrast in attitudes between the money-grubbing world of top-level football and the old boy liquidating his wife's jewellery for the benefit of a local childrens' charity.

Talking of the "old boy". I hadn't seen him since well before Christmas and he had not returned my calls to tell him he had cash to collect. I was getting a little concerned to be honest.

Well, he is alive and well..... just. Apparently his kids came over from Australia for Christmas and they all brought flu with them. The daughter went down on the 24th, the son on the 25th and Roy went down on the 26th. By his account he is lucky to be here after suffering a severe chest infection, a heart issue caused by the flu and chest, and a few days not of this earth due to fever and exhaustion. The guy likes his challenges!! (had polio as a child and was bed bound for 2 years, rescued his late wife from an awful childhood, went to Oz with less than nothing and pretty much single handedly built the textile and fabric industry that Australia and much of the world enjoys today).

Bit of a legend and I'm happy to say he's back on the childrens charity train as we speak.

[ecain63]

mikeveal said:

ecain63 said:

evoivboy said:

ecain63 said:

I think maybe guilty by association?

yes maybe, shame as it's a work of art

When she gets it does that mean she can't post pics on faceache etc?

You are my customer, she is not

It's a shame PH blamed sluething. Feels like an Arse n' all.
(Haven't got a clue as to the item itself though.)

It's an 18ct gold sea bird in an 18ct beach resort inscribed circle.

[ecain63]

Gargamel said:

It was the "recent" promotion that gave it away. Well at least to anyone who considers themselves a Bright on(e)

Hove(r)ing around the point....... etc

[ecain63]

As promised, the platinum 3 stone crossover that I made last week. The customer had her own stones from an existing yellow and white gold ring that just wasn't getting any air time. For those who might guess, the shank is an oversized cast item that I can modify to suit. Makes more sense sometimes than making my own. The rest of it (undersetting and claws) is all my own graft

Eddie

With the shank already formed for me i start by making the undersetting. This is constructed using a double tapered piece of platinum plate that matches the widths of the graduated stones:





























With the stones in position (roughly) the shank is filed to the correct shape and taper as well being sized:





Stones secured:



Claws are then placed between each corner to stop the stones knocking together and chipping:







The claws are trimmed and rounded:





Old vs new:



Some polising later and it's done:

[ecain63]

As it's a watch forum........

2 watch refurbs we had in this week. The first is an 18ct and steel Omega Constellation. Just needed a spruce up. The Constellation case is an easy one to take apart so this part is a very quick job. The bracelet can be fully disassembled but with the right tools I can achieve a good two-tone finish with the links still pinned together. :

Stripped and ready for some TLC. You can see how heavily worn the bracelet is....



Now fully stripped and cleaned before the work begins:





Without revealing my secrets the parts are refinished and then washed and dried:



And reassembled:













The second watch is a ladies Steel and Diamond DateJust. As well as a refurb it also needs a diamond set in the bezel where one has fallen out:





With the bracelet removed I set the diamond and then polished the sides of the case. With that done the bracelet is fully polished and the two-tone finish applied:



















Eddie