Pearl Ring

This is my fourth project in Stage 3 of the Silver Program at Jewellery Training Solutions, but it is actually the first project in this level. I’m doing them slightly out of order since I had to wait for some of the stones that I needed for a couple of the projects. This project covered some basic topics such as reducing firescale, filing, and hallmarking

My hallmark is now registered in the national registry, so I can start quality stamping my work. The rules vary by country, but in the United States, you can hallmark your pieces without being registered, but if you put a quality stamp on the piece it has to be accompanied by a federally registered trademark. It’s a long process to go through, but well worth it, I think.

What were the challenges?

This project went very well, so I didn’t run in to any major issues. Phew! It was a lot of fun, though. I started with a piece of square wire that I filed into a half round ring. It was almost a magical process! This project was a filing test, so the ring had to be within .2 mm tolerance in all directions.

Where could I improve?

I thought the ring was finished very well, but once I took the photo I realized there were still scratches. This mirror polish finishing is very challenging!

What did I learn?

The biggest thing I learned was how to file square wire into half round, and do it evenly. Many tell me I’m crazy when I could just buy the wire, but I really enjoy making these pieces entirely from scratch using traditional techniques. For each of these projects I am using metal that I have melted and rolled.