How's this made?

[Nick martin]

Evening all,

I've seen a fair few of these style rings on the web lately, I like them as they look great for rough uncut stones, but how on earth are they made?

Surely the recess isn't carved out, followed by furnishing the edges over or is it?

I'm sure there's a simple answer but I can't figure it out. Suggestions please!

Cheers,

Nick

[Dennis]

Well Nick it's a rough and organic looking channel setting and I feel that in minutes you could make a fine saw cut as a guide. Then increase the blade size and finally carve out a suitable channel with burrs. Dennis.

[josef1]

It's probably cad cast as a master then molded, wax injected then cast again . As Dennis said its just a channel setting.

[Nick martin]

Thanks chaps,

I realised it was a channel setting used but intrigued by it's organic design.

Thought it could have been made out of a flat strip then folded over on itself and with part of the seam soldered, but I suppose that would be a lot of work.

Cheers,

Nick

[Aurarius]

Dennis is surely right. From the number of similar rings on the seller's website and the variety shown in the size and shape of the channels I'm not sure casting is the method that's been used. It looks to me in most cases as if channels have been roughly hogged out, the resulting thin edges bent outwards, the stones forced in, and then the edges of the channel pushed back down to hold the stones in place. I like the stones, but the rings aren't my cup of tea.

[CJ57]

Dennis is surely right. From the number of similar rings on the seller's website and the variety shown in the size and shape of the channels I'm not sure casting is the method that's been used. It looks to me in most cases as if channels have been roughly hogged out, the resulting thin edges bent outwards, the stones forced in, and then the edges of the channel pushed back down to hold the stones in place. I like the stones, but the rings aren't my cup of tea.

I'm all for organic but the channels are very rough, even doing it with a file a clean edge for the lovely rough stones would be a nice contrast

[Faith]

Hi all,

Temporarily resurrecting Nicks thread here if I may, in my ongoing "learn to set stones" project I hadn't been planning to do channel setting as there are few examples of it that are to my personal taste, but this kind of style I've fallen for a bit since seeing this thread and researching it more.

I'm wondering though if anyone with a more experienced eye can hazard a guess as to what ratio between stone size and wire depth you might shoot for? You obviously need to allow for say 0.25mm of metal thickness to make the walls, but also it looks nice if the set part of the ring widens out a little, so I'm maybe thinking the same size, i.e 1.7mm stones and 1.7mm wire for example, but what do you guys think?

I know it's a bit just up to whatever you prefer, I was just hoping for some advice as to what might work?

Many thanks

Faith

[Dennis]

Faith, you measure the stone's depth, or at estimate the part to be trapped within the tube. Then look at Cooksons list, which gives the internal diameter of each tube and you will have your answer.

My picture shows a cabochon (top left), trapped by a bezel but set by the corners of the cut tube. Another take on the same idea. Dennis

[Faith]

Thanks Dennis,

I'd thought tho, maybe from the posts above that rings like this would be made from solid wire, with a portion kind of excavated to make the channel? Surely tube would get dented very easily in the shank part?

Thanks Faith

PS I like the necklace, it reminds me of crop circles

[Dennis]

Sorry, it's me being absent minded. Yes we decided the ring was made from solid wire and then excavated. So you would need about 1.5mm more thickness than the depth of stone.
Obviously unless you have drawing down facilities, the wire comes in stock sizes and you will have to pair it with suitable stones.
Dennis.