The rings originated from my client’s family jewellery that had been handed down. Her paternal grandfather was a jewellery dealer and the rings had come from her mother. The diamond ring was her grandmothers ring and the wedding band her mothers. The diamond ring was brought in 1938 when the grandmother saw the solitaire in a shop window and she was given it on their next date!
When taking to my client and her mother, they had a wonderful story about her grandfather’s jewellery security …. When they went out, he hid it in the dustbin outside !! I love that, it makes so much sense on so many levels, why would anyone in their right mind think to look there!!
At the time I made this stunning remodel, it was the most challenging one I had worked on. Just to put it into perspective, this diamond is a whopping 7mm in diameter!! Sadly I didn’t calculate the carat weight, however, it was a beast! It was the most stunning stone, so clear and bright. Along with that I was given a 22 ct gold ring. This was plated in rhodium, which needed to be removed before melting the gold. This is because it would have created imperfections in the gold, which could have lead to it brittle and unworkable. This can be a common problem when reworking gold. Solder, dirt and all sorts of other things can cause this.
This ring was a real joy to make (other than the natural worry of working with such important and incredible materials). I melted the gold down for the setting and the individual granules. 22ct is such a dreamy gold to work with, it is incredibly buttery and rich. This was why we chose emeralds. The colour combination of the two matched so beautifully. I then made a conical mount out of silver. This has a bit of a complicated mathematical calculation to it. So when it works, it is a proper buzz! I also used a slightly different setting technique for the emeralds and granulations. Usually, I set directly into the granulation. But this time, I set a few using them as the claw to hold the emeralds in place.
The ring was finished and sent to the Assay office for it to be Hallmarked. In this case, as I had a single ring with the 22ct stamp, I could confidently send it with a request for a 22ct part mark. If it is a mixture of metals the Assay office test the gold and assign it the relevant carat mark.
Needless to say my client was delighted, I was delighted …. We were all very happy with the outcome.
Below are some images that show the process.
Cx
The original solitaire and wedding band The diamond in its original ring Showing the contrast of the golds 
Gallery of photos for a diamond and gold ring The diamond out of its setting Diamond being checked for size in its setting Components for the granulation and gemstones for the ring 22ct granulations Building the granulations up on the side of the ring Continuing to build granulations up During setting the emeralds The emeralds are set Setting the diamond The new ring back in the original rings box 
The finished piece
Leave a Reply