Sapphire Ring

Whats the difference between shapeways and most jewelry shops? At most jewelry shops you choose a cookie cutter ring and then pick a stone that best fits the ring. With shapeways, I can purchase the stone first and then design a ring around the stone.

I just wanna share some pictures of a ring im making. Its still a work in progress, Lost more detail to come.

Its a blue 6ct cushion sapphire. Square cut with rounded corners. In my opinion, its one of the best types of cuts out there.

My mothers favorite color is blue and favorite number is 3, so im making her a ring with a large blue sapphire on top and 3 smaller round diamond cut sapphires on each side.

This is the ring. Still very much a work in progress.

Very cool looking Sal. She will be ecstatic.

Keith

That is gorgeous, but from a technical aspect of stone setting I can see one of two things happening. First all the details of those prongs may be lost during the setting process just from cutting a seat and then pushing the prongs into place. Second Being able to keep the details but not having a properly secured stone. What you may consider is building as much of the seat for the stone before hand so you have as little manipulation as possible to set it securely.

I hope this helps.

Ray

Hey, VERY GOOD. Ive left that part out because im actualy working on that right now. You know, thats the kind of advice I need. This is my first time setting a stone. What I was thinking of doing for seating the stone was on each prong, make it so they have a V-Groove down the center and bubbled out like a little belly with a v-groove down the middle but unexpectedly, the corners of the gem where it would be seated is flat. So thats where im at right now. Oh, and as far as the detail being lost, I will make it so the the opening will be enough for me to seat the gem down bend the prongs down onto the corners of the gem and avoid having to drill a notch on the inside of the prongs. You know what I just thought of, build a cushion gem with this same cut style then cut the gem from the ring leaving a gem size opening. What you think?

Overall good ideas. If you are going to build a 3d model of your gemstone, then you have to take into account a few things. Large colored gems tend to have thick girdles, and usually they have thicker pavilions. They are also likely to be cut by hand so the facets are likely to not be exact or ideal unless you paid extra for a higher cut value. This is a good web page for general gemstone information..

http://www.asia-gems.com/gemology/basics.php


Now all that being said, you have a cushion cut that only has one sharp edge that could be broken, the culet or very bottom. So make sure you have 2-4mm clearance between that and the ring or if left open the hand. Next since you have rounded ends all you need to really have is a snug and secure way to grasp the stone. the prong should be "vertical" where the girdle is, and have a comfortable "seat" where the Pavilion will rest on the prongs. Then the top of the prong just needs to be bent over the top of the stone to give a snug fit. Thankfully Sterling Silver is considered softer than say 14k gold. BUT the thicker you make things the more difficult bending the top of the prong down will be. Here is a second link that shows some of the anatomy of gemstone settings.

http://www.brilliance.com/setting-types-guide

I hope this helps!

Ray

Yes, I gotta check out that site. I know thinner bends well for the side stones but one aspect I was going to research before printing was the top prongs. Whats the thickest that can still be safely bent. Hmm... I'm not sure what you mean about the cushion having one sharp edge or being broken. The first thing I checked was that this sapphire was symmetrical. It don't have any broken edges. I'll take a picture of it upside down so you know what I mean. Yeah, you said it perfectly.
"a snug and secure way to grasp the stone. the prong should be "vertical" where the girdle is, and have a comfortable "seat" where the Pavilion will rest on the prongs. Then the top of the prong just needs to be bent over the top of the stone to give a snug fit."
I thinks thats the best way to do it and still keep the detail without having anything cut.

Like most of my designs, I love detail. The first image was just the basic shape of the ring, but I intend to add detail and make it look organic. Here is the progress of the ring so far. I plan on making some the fleshy looking rings on the band to look like they are reaching out towards the side sapphires and use those as the prongs. I haven't added those yet. I plan on fusing the leaf detail and fleshy detail to make it look like its part of each other.

What a great design! And the technical details of setting the stone makes it challenging too. You might find this tutorial on stone setting from the Blender forums useful (even if you're not using Blender):

http://www.blendernation.com/2013/01/04/tutorial-designing-j ewelry-for-3d-printing-with-blender/

Keep us posted! I'd love to see the finished product

Natalia

Thanks Natalia, I definitely gotta check it out. I need as much help as possible. Its my first time setting stones.

Ray716, I see what you mean about the corners. I guess my cushion sapphire is really a cushion modified sapphire. Kinda looks like an ascher cut on the bottom.

Below is todays progress on the detail, I dunno, I might change it though. Too much of the same or maybe ive been staring at it way too long. The sapphire is now sitting on the prongs. Each prong has a belly with a v-groove going down the center so the gem can wedge itself in the grooves.

Carl, Ohh Myyy! Wow the detail you have on this ring is amazing! I'm glad I was able to help a bit with your design, I cant wait to see it finished!

Ohh and Natalia, thanks for that link!!! I will add it to my list

Ray

Very useful link Natalia. I might just set the side stones as pave. I have a question for you Natalia or maybe the Shapeways staff. Will they be able to pour silver during casting with all this detail talking up space or should I leave some blank space on the bottom? I didnt do a whole lot on the bottom just in case I need to change it.

Im almost done. All I need now is add my logo and finish the 4 prongs, Those are still unfinished.

Amazing work! I havn't yet tried doing models as complex as you have for this. Simply amazing!

Now I do see one drainage hole to lessen the weight, but are you planning similar holes for the rest of the stones? Or is that hole because the model is hallow?

Ray

Yeah, It looks like only one stone on each side had a hole below it, but all stones have holes below them. Check it out. Heres the ring cut in half. Its gonna be solid. I will prolly work on finishing up the prongs later tonight. Just gotta check measurements on the detail to make sure its within the design rules.

Awesome!! I can't wait to see it finished!

Ray

Very cool, it looks like an H.R. Giger design.

What software do you design in?

I want to move on to setting stones and this will be my first go at it but I've already purchased some gems for my next projects. If you think this 6ct sapphire is big you aint seen nuthing yet. Its not a sapphire, but still semi-precious gem. Two gems actually, one is an 18ct Purple Amethyst and the other is a 28ct Purple Amethyst. All natural and both a re round diamond cut. Im just gonna have fun with these, maybe make a cocktail ring for a lady.


roofoo - Yeah, Ive been getting compared to H.R. Giger a lot. I never heard of him until recently but the guy is good. Real good. My design style comes from a tattoo style called Bio-Organic also called Biomechanical and of course the best tattoo artist in my opinion Guy Aitchison. This guy is amazing. Im still learning tho, but I learn something new with each design. By the way, I use Zbrush 4r4 and Rhino 3D.

Cool, I never got the hang of Zbrush but my friend is awesome with it. Yeah Giger is the guy that designed the xenomorph from the Alien series, his artwork is bizarre yet awesome!

Q: Will they be able to pour silver during casting with all this detail talking up space or should I leave some blank space on the bottom? I didnt do a whole lot on the bottom just in case I need to change it.

Good question! The silver printing is a two part process, first we 3D print in wax, then cast into silver using the traditional lost wax casting method.
Great wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost-wax_casting

Since this involves "spruing" the models, which is essentially attaching a branch of wax that becomes the funnel for molten silver to pour through, it IS a good idea to have one spot (usually the bottom) that is free from detail so the sprue can be attached there (and then removed, without removing your detail).

It *is* possible to attach a sprue to the inside of a ring, but this is more complex, and more often results in a bad cast.

It's great that you are thinking ahead to the process when you are designing, so yes, do leave a small area of no detail on the bottom of the ring.

Another benefit of doing this is since this part is inside your hand, it will be more comfortable to wear.

Thanks Natalia. Ive always wondered that but never asked. It makes the design process easier now that I know. On this design, Ive already made changes to the bottom and giving plenty of space for the sprues. It even turned out better then before...

Im really looking forward to this ring. I already have 2 more gems for the next rings. These are HUGE, an 18ct amethyst and a 28ct amethyst both natural earth mined, slightly different coloring and both are round diamond cut. Im thinking cocktail rings.

That was a great link. i'm definitely going with bead pave setting for the 6 side stones. Im really diggin this ring, too bad its a womans ring... LOL...


Heres a sneak peek on what imma design my next ring around.. This 18ct beauty... Its about the same size around as a dime.