Unusual job on the bench today
Discussion
No idea. Might have just been circumstance. Joe (F-i-L) gave me a piece of gold bar and i just set about it with a file and a few scorpers (used to pick away metal / wood). The whale idea may have come to me as the bar became torpedo shaped. The calf i thought was a nice little addition.
) reading this. No way with my pig tits could I do anything like this, but it is great to see the processes. 
SickFish said:
longshot said:
I can't for the life of me figure out how that huge thing will become a ring.
Has the mahoosive diamond been set yet. It will be nice to see that finished.
I was going to ask the same, but then felt I would get the parrot so thought better of it....Has the mahoosive diamond been set yet. It will be nice to see that finished.
Ref the Yankee candle ring. Yeah, i'm struggling to imagine the finished article too. Its a bit of a whopper. It's going to weigh a tonne, I just hope its not going to be worn when he starts his next season of UFC. Ouch face!
Morning!
Nothing major to add to the Yankee candle build other than to say its finished and the customer is over the moon. Good thing too as he's quite scary! Final weight on the finger was 86g.
Making a simple shank: take a bar of 14ct gold and roll it down to make a 6mm x 2.5mm flat strip.
Turn it to make a rough 'ring' shape.
Once its the right shape and size the open ends are profiled (pic missing) and the shank is soldered to the head. The size of this item means it needs a lot of heat.
Give it a good polish and rhodium plate the label plate and hey presto.
And there you have it.
As for 'the rock', it's still not in yet. You know how it goes though, the bigger the fish the longer the wait. Just hope its soon as my first born is due in the next few weeks.
To add a bit of variation I've been servicing this beauty over the past week. Hand made, amazing craftsmanship from back when modern machinery and tools were not even an option.
Nothing major to add to the Yankee candle build other than to say its finished and the customer is over the moon. Good thing too as he's quite scary! Final weight on the finger was 86g.
Making a simple shank: take a bar of 14ct gold and roll it down to make a 6mm x 2.5mm flat strip.
Turn it to make a rough 'ring' shape.
Once its the right shape and size the open ends are profiled (pic missing) and the shank is soldered to the head. The size of this item means it needs a lot of heat.
Give it a good polish and rhodium plate the label plate and hey presto.
And there you have it.
As for 'the rock', it's still not in yet. You know how it goes though, the bigger the fish the longer the wait. Just hope its soon as my first born is due in the next few weeks.
To add a bit of variation I've been servicing this beauty over the past week. Hand made, amazing craftsmanship from back when modern machinery and tools were not even an option.
yeti said:
Hope you're OK matey!
I have to ask; I now know what a 'yankee candle' is after googling, but what's the relevance?
Not sure myself actually. When I asked him he said 'only 2 things in my life have been reliable: dogs and Yankee candles'.I have to ask; I now know what a 'yankee candle' is after googling, but what's the relevance?
I left it at that. You can find him on YouTube. Look up 'Jimmy Justice Miller'.
NeMiSiS said:
I hope your enforced lay-off was because you were on a Sun lounger pool-side and not a Hospital bed corridor-side.
Was neither actually. I was a naughty boy (not that bad) on here so got 7 days detention. Wrists slapped and lessons learned. Lol.Did just get my latest chemo results though. Somehow im still managing to surprise the doctors. The tumour is still shrinking after 6 sessions and the colorectal nurse thought the scan was post-op rather than post-chemo given how effective the treatments are for me. Hoping it's going to be done and dusted soon.
^^ We do lose stuff, but never anything worth worrying about.
If we drop bits of gold or platinum and it goes down into the carpet be hoover it out. If we lose diamonds or other stones in the carpet we hoover them out also. If it can't be hoovered out (melted into the fabric or fallen through the pile) then it gets recovered when the carpet is replaced and melted for scrap. Very little is wasted in this game.
How did you lose a starter motor?
If we drop bits of gold or platinum and it goes down into the carpet be hoover it out. If we lose diamonds or other stones in the carpet we hoover them out also. If it can't be hoovered out (melted into the fabric or fallen through the pile) then it gets recovered when the carpet is replaced and melted for scrap. Very little is wasted in this game.
How did you lose a starter motor?
Back again!
So, this arrived a few days back: Actually, at first i doubted it's authenticity but a check over found it to be very much the real deal. Its a fraction on the yellow side and has some fluorescence but all in, for the size it's not a bad lump of rock. 9.87ct on the scale too!
And as you know, it's due to be set into this:
Excuse the lack of photo detail today, hopefully you'll get the gist.
I took a length of 18ct white gold wire and cut 8 x 10mm lengths from it. These were soldered at equal distances around the inside of the setting:
The wires are the claws. They get shaped and bent around the girdle of the stone:
The claws are trimmed to an equal length:
And then shaped / filed to the right profile:
Give it a polish and rhodium plating. Hey presto:
Hope it was worth the wait.
So, this arrived a few days back: Actually, at first i doubted it's authenticity but a check over found it to be very much the real deal. Its a fraction on the yellow side and has some fluorescence but all in, for the size it's not a bad lump of rock. 9.87ct on the scale too!
And as you know, it's due to be set into this:
Excuse the lack of photo detail today, hopefully you'll get the gist.
I took a length of 18ct white gold wire and cut 8 x 10mm lengths from it. These were soldered at equal distances around the inside of the setting:
The wires are the claws. They get shaped and bent around the girdle of the stone:
The claws are trimmed to an equal length:
And then shaped / filed to the right profile:
Give it a polish and rhodium plating. Hey presto:
Hope it was worth the wait.
HereBeMonsters said:
Bloody hell.
I was going to ask if you could do anything with the ring my missus stepped on and squashed (it was a fairly fragile design with lots of lattice-y type stuff), but I think the 12 tiny diamonds that added up to about a quarter of a carat would be beneath you!
I'm happy to assist if youre happy to let me work on it.I was going to ask if you could do anything with the ring my missus stepped on and squashed (it was a fairly fragile design with lots of lattice-y type stuff), but I think the 12 tiny diamonds that added up to about a quarter of a carat would be beneath you!
ross-co said:
Just want to say thank you for posting up and continuing to do so despite other things going on.
No probs and thanks for the appreciation.ross-co said:
Secondly really hope you kick cancers ass.
That's the plan. 
ross-co said:
I cant get over the level of detail, and it raises so many questions. If i may be so rude do you ever work on items of a "low" value? I am aware there are obviously many variables but what sort of price does custom jewelry start at?
I work on run-of-the-mill stuff every day. Some of it is absolute toilet. Important thing to remember with every item i see is that it's still somebody's pride and joy. Even if it is off the H Samuel 'sale' counter. For an idea of what my daily trawl is:Ring sizings and plating / polishing: 50 plus
Chain repairs: 30 plus
Claw work / refurbs: 5 to 10
Commissions: 2 or 3 a week
And then some misc items.
It's a very busy shop and we punch well above our weight volume wise. Most important factor is always quality of workmanship, and thats what the business is built on.
ross-co said:
Do all clients provide there own gold/Jewels etc i presume you can supply what ever they desire for there own pieces?
No, the majority get us to supply the materials, whether it be metals or stones. In many cases this is the easiest way as some metals don't like to be reworked. White golds in particular have a habit of becoming brittle (metals in the alloy such as aluminium and silver don't bond well with gold) when recycled in a small workshop facility (we dont have or need a large smelting machine) so new metals from the bullion dealer is often used in its place. We are always happy to recycle to maintain any sentimental value though.ross-co said:
Really interesting read, please continue to post when possibly.
Will do and thanks.yeti said:
ecain63 said:
She and her husband have one of those Aston Syget things each. That's their 'town' cars. Hers is green and his is a purpley colour. Not sure what their 'out of town' cars are.
Aha, in that case I know who she is 
She's a lovely old bird and curiously I have a picture of her on my wall!!
king big rock .........made twice the size by your work, which is fabulous ....that ring is very show biz Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff