My Client and The Tanzanite Diamond Ring.
My Client.
First off I should say I love blue stones. So I was pretty excited to get a call to potentially make a Tanzanite and Diamond ring. My Client wanted something to wear on special occasions but without being to dramatic. They wanted a tanzanite, oval and nothing too big. Its always nice when a clients knows exactly what they want. The tanzanite was to be the focal point of the ring. Diamonds were also to be incorporated into the ring. My client showed me examples in the way of pictures to give me a good idea of what they had in mind.
The design.
I set about drawing up a design of the ring I thought would work best biased on the information I took from my client. A ring with an Oval Tanzanite, some diamonds on the shoulders and nothing too big. I then showed the design to my client and we had the go ahead. The next stage was sourcing the tanzanite and showing them the diamonds. I like to give my clients as much control over the design and selection of the stones as possible. By doing this I feel the piece of Jewellery becomes much more personal.
Making.
After showing the customer the stones and the deign as been agreed its time to start making. I first start by making up the collet for the tanzanite. Its all done by hand so taking my time and concentrating is crucial. I then make the shoulder collets and fit the three pieces together. Once this is complete I make the shank and fit it to the head. After all the pieces are made and tacked in place, its then time to solder all the joins with hard solder. Once the assembly stage is complete the ring gets a good clean up and sent for Hallmarking at the Goldsmiths Hall Assay office. https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk
Setting The Stones And Showing The Client.
Once the ring is back from the Assay office its then time to start setting in the stones. This is a crucial stage of the making process. Making sure the seats for every stone is cut correctly and no movement is visible insures the stones are properly set and will not fall out. A final polish and Rhodium plate and its ready for my client.
My client came to pick it up and she loved it. She was so pleased that we were able to make something that was exactly what she wanted. It looked beautiful on her finger and I’m really pleased she was so happy.