An Artichoke Ring.

[Dennis]

This year I was asked to make a new ring to wear with one of my old amethyst pendants.That has slices of square tube and wire as decorations, with some of them acting as claws, as shown in my fist picture.

For the ring I pierced out eight pairs of 0.3mm squares, joined at the corners, using graph paper for the template. The joins were scored, bent to a right angle and soldered. I usually make some extras in case of trouble and you can see one at the front of my second picture. The backplate for the cabochon was domed in an oval doming block and the centre cut out.

The shank was made from two 2.0mm round wire rings, crossed top and bottom, an idea derived from a test piece I kept from my ‘orbit’ pendant. Further experiments showed that the rings needed to be two sizes bigger than normal and the degree of crossing could then be adjusted to achieve the best fit.

The lozenge shaped claws proved too tough to push home completely, but the stone is firm and , suitably bluntened, I thought the artichoke effect quite fetching. But then I would say that, wouldn’t I?
Dennis.

[Kwant]

Very nice Dennis. Did you dome the backplate to allow the shank to enter in a little or was it because the cabochon back was not flat?

[louisella76]

Oh my - they're beautiful Dennis. I particularly like the pendant - have you used neckwire or cable for the 'chain'?

[mizgeorge]

Like that Dennis - a very nice reworking of the original design

[Dennis]

Very nice Dennis. Did you dome the backplate to allow the shank to enter in a little or was it because the cabochon back was not flat?

Thank you. Yes, the back of the cabochon was convex and I remembered from other settings using spaced retention, that if you just have a flat back-plate you see an unsightly gap around the sides.

[Dennis]

Oh my - they're beautiful Dennis. I particularly like the pendant - have you used neckwire or cable for the 'chain'?

The suspension is five strands of 0.45 mm tigertail (plastic covered steel wire) which is fairly resistant to kinks and and comes in different colours and thicknesses. It has been glued into cable ends with two part epoxy.

[medusa]

gorgeous stone beautifully set.

[Dennis]

Like that Dennis - a very nice reworking of the original design

Thank you George. It's difficult not to get into a rut, but I'd rather be a bus than a tram. Dennis

[caroleallen]

Lovely ring Dennis.

[sonia]

Beautiful Dennis - very unusual.

Sonia
x