Five Stone Wave Ring

This is the third project from Stage 6 of the Silver program at Jewellery Training Solutions. This ring wasn’t my favorite, but I really like how it turned out, especially when it’s being worn. You know when you have an, “Oh, duh,” moment, one of those times when you knew you were doing something stupid and did it anyway? Yeah, I had one of those on my first go around with this one.

What were the challenges?

Making the setting for this ring, which was the real test, really wasn’t too bad. Except that I ended up having to make the ring twice when one of the seams opened up in the tubing as I was trying to set the stone. That’s because I hadn’t soldered the tube when I made it - I just tried to line up the seams with solder joints during the project. That didn’t work out so well, hence the Duh moment… The real trouble I had with this ring was getting the stones set, but more about this below. The good news is that the stones did not fall out in the ultrasonic cleaner!

Where could I improve?

There are so many things I could improve in this one. There are still some rough spots on the setting I had trouble polishing out, one of the end prongs is bent too far, the stones are not completely level, and the setting is slightly at an angle (in the horizontal direction). Also the seam in the back of the ring is slightly visible on the inside - there wasn’t to be a seam, but the size turned out much too big so I had to take out a section and solder it.

What did I learn?

Here I go, being a broken record, but I learned so much with this project and each time I’m getting more and more comfortable with more intricate soldering jobs. I will say, though, I’m still not a real soldering fan! The tubing that I made was the same size as the stones, but I found I didn’t have enough space for each stone to sit level. I adjusted the seats a little bit, but I think it would have been better for the tubing to be just a hair larger. Not sure if the next hole in the drawplate would have been too large, though. I ended up cracking three stones while trying to set them. I’m so glad I learned how to make this setting, though, since I see many different applications for it!