Jewelry

I began making jewelry in 1996 and in 1998 it became my full time job

I do everything from simple repairs to complex restorations to full custom work. Pattern making, mold making, casting, hand fabrication, stone setting, engraving, polishing, plating, etc. In the industry this is known as a bench jeweler. While some jewelers specialize in certain aspects, a bench jeweler does most everything- common exceptions are lapidary and enameling work as those are very specialized.

Examples of work

Rose Gold pendant

This was a really fun piece to make. Made in two halves in Rose Gold with hand engraving, champagne Diamonds and a large red Zircon.

Hand fabricated custom Platinum rings

The first ring shown below was an especially challenging job as the opening in the the side of the ring is only 8mm wide. The vine sections are made from fourteen separate Platinum pieces. Platinum wire that is .07mm thick (about .003 inch) is used for the vines and the leaves were cut from Platinum sheet, hand engraved and welded to the vine sections. The assembled vine sections were then inserted into the 8mm wide opening and then welded into place from the back side. It’s a very small ring- to put in in perspective the side stones on the top of the ring are 1mm in diameter.

The next two rings are entirely made from Platinum sheet and wire- no castings were used and there are over forty soldered joints in each ring using high temp Platinum solder. Using Gold solder on Platinum is a no no as it will contaminate it. To make rings like these I start with the center head by forming the prongs and gallery wires, bending them to shape and joining them together. The prongs and gallery wires for the side stones are then added, paying close attention to the stone spacing. The ring shank is then hand forged, shaped and attached to the head assembly. The ring is then pre polished and the stones are set and then the detail work/hand engraving is done, followed by the final polish.

Gallery of custom work

Tutorials

Secret compartment ring

I made a neat sterling silver ring with a secret compartment for YouTuber Estefannie (go check out her work cause she is awesome!) There is a full tutorial on Instructables.

Cast Platinum engagement ring- how it’s made from start to finish. This particular tutorial shows a lot of the hand tools jewelers use.

Hand fabricated engagement ring– a step by step tutorial. This shows the methods used to make a ring using only raw sheet and wire- no castings used. This is the old school high end way of making jewelry.

Rose Cut natural Diamond ring- step by step tutorial.

Two tone engagement ring- build diary.

Solitaire ring with accent stones- this tutorial on Instructables shows how to make a solitaire ring  with a soldered in basket head and bead set accent stones down the sides.

Simple bezel set ring- another tutorial on Instructables for this bezel set ring. It’s a great project for a beginner jeweler looking to make a simple ring with a stone setting.

Repair work

I do an awful lot of repair work- literally thousands of jobs. Often jewelry is brought to me that is deemed beyond salvage and I can bring it back to life again. Here are two Platinum rings that were in pretty dire shape when I received them and was able to resurrect them. Check out the before and after pics.