Eight Claw Solitaire
This is the final project from Stage 9 of the Apprentice program at Jewellery Training Solutions, a stage dedicated to advanced soldering skills and construction, as well as multistone settings. This project was as challenging as you would expect a final project to be! Unfortunately I don’t have any stones of the appropriate size right now and I just received an order for supplies, so I will have to wait to set this ring until I place another order.
What were the challenges?
I still have an issue using the bezel block to create the tapered bezel, so this took a couple of tries. I think I figured some things out this time, though. This was very challenging due to the absolute precision needed to create the pattern in the setting. Then the challenge is to use the saw to create the shapes in the setting. Both of these were extremely difficult and time consuming. At a couple of points I thought I was going to have to throw in the towel, but I was determined to make it work.
Where could I improve?
Unfortunately some of the cutting wasn’t exactly spaced correctly. I had a lot of difficulty shaping the teardrops - I just couldn’t exactly see what I was supposed to be doing. I had the most trouble with cutting the bottom of the setting, and I’m not happy with how those cuts turned out. Unfortunately I’m not sure I could do better right now, but I definitely want to return to this in the future.
What did I learn?
A lot of things seemed to “click” as I was making this one, including using the dreaded bezel block. Initially I did not completely understand how all the cuts fit together, but luckily I understood by the end. That’s part of the reason the bottom cuts aren’t exactly right. Putting on the scroll and the shoulder elements went much better than the last time I did that - it always feels good to be able to see and feel actual improvement.
I’m really excited, and somewhat intimidated, to be entering the final stage of my training. I remember the first time I saw the JTS program - I passed right over it since I knew that I would never be at that level. That wasn’t very long ago - just a few years. So it’s so hard for me to believe I’ve almost completed the program! Having the skills that I have learned throughout this program has made thinking about projects much more fun, since I’m not as limited in possibilities as I was prior to this training, and I’m not scared to try new things.