Bi-colour court ring

[art925]

I have been asked to make a pair of wedding rings for the summer. They will be very simple in shape and form; court shape. However the happy couple want red gold on the inner, and white gold on the outer.

Do I sweat solder the two strips of gold together then form the ring, I can see there can be issues here if the two are not truly together. Or do I make the two rings, inner and outer, heat up the outer to expand the metal a little allowing me to bash, the inner ring inside the outer. Again if the rings are not perfect in shape at this stage there will be issues.

Which of these processes will be easier to carry out, create less stress and provide a better result for my client?

Many thanks for your comments and any other suggestions.

Les.

[Dennis]

Hi Les,

You have mentioned the two obvious ways of tackling this, but if I were doing it I would make the bi-metal wire(s) first, by sweating them together using pallions of solder and then make the rings.

This has been discussed here recently and you can search for it, but as soldered wire is quite stiff, it would be much easier to bend up neatly using a ring bending tool. You will note that I have added a leather strap to protect the outer surface of the ring. Also if you made the rings slightly undersized they could be expanded to size and made round at the same time using a ring stretcher.

As I make quite a few rings, I consider both these tools a must, particularly in this case as too much bending and hammering might break the solder.

[art925]

The ring stretcher I feel is a must in this case, I am worried about kinks and creases, and both tools will help to prevent the obvious failures when tackling this project. I appreciate your comments and feedback.

Les.

[Dennis]

I have brooded a lot about this Les and I think I would do a practice in cheaper metals first to get some idea of the pitfalls. regards, Dennis.

[art925]

I have brooded a lot about this Les and I think I would do a practice in cheaper metals first to get some idea of the pitfalls. regards, Dennis.

Me too Dennis, which is why I thought others may have alternate methods of production. Without even making this I can imagine a fair number of pitfalls using either method. I will ponder some more... thanks for your thoughts.
Les