Square Cluster Ring

This is a project from Stage 10 of the Apprentice program at Jewellery Training Solutions, the final stage of the training program. This project was difficult. Really difficult. My fingers were quite sore and swollen by the time I got finished - holding the setting while doing all the cutting was rough. I was relatively happy with how it came out until I got everything done and really started looking at it. But it feels good to have completed it. Only two more projects to go.

What were the challenges?

This project held challenge after challenge! Since it’s square, everything had to be exactly right or it stands out like a sore thumb. Peter demonstrated making the square bezels using a tapered bezel block, but unfortunately I didn’t have one, so I made it using a template. I was happy with how square they turned out to be. The organ pipe cut work was very difficult. And setting the stones was really challenging this time, especially the square one.

Where could I improve?

As I look at the finished ring, I see more and more things that could be improved. Unfortunately, if I remade it right now, I don’t think that I could improve on it much. I struggled with the cut work, trying to figure out how much to round it off. I don’t think I rounded it enough, and some of it is uneven. The setting is slightly crooked to the shank, but each time I looked at it I saw something different and struggled to correct it. I thought the middle bezel had a nice, tight fit to the top plate, but now I see there is a gap where solder didn’t flow, even though I soldered it twice. The square stone is slightly crooked and isn’t quite sitting flat. Also, unfortunately I had a little incident with the saw as I was doing the very final cuts and made marks where they shouldn’t be. I messed up setting the flush set stones as well, although I tested it in the ultrasonic and none of them came out, so I think they are in there securely.

What did I learn?

This project was definitely more about testing skills than learning new skills. I found it very interesting how it was constructed, and have really enjoyed learning how to fabricate all of these different styles. I’ve definitely learned the importance of stopping and taking some deep breaths rather than continuing on in frustration.