Four things to consider when you are designing and making an engagement ring
Wedding jewellery is a great addition to any jewellery business. It can help transition your business into working with more precious metals and gemstones as well as give you the opportunity to work one to one with clients to design and make commissions.
There are many things you need to consider when designing a successful engagement ring for a customer or as a range of rings in your shop. Many of these considerations are very practical and not very romantic! Your job is to understand what works best with wedding jewellery and to design and make a beautiful and long-lasting ring that will be worn every day and symbolize their marriage.
Durability of the gemstone/s
The durability of any stone chosen for a ring that will be worn every day is important. Traditionally, the hardness of a stone is measured using the Mohs hardness scale. The scale goes from 1 which is for the softest stones, up to 10 for the hardest stones - diamonds. Rubies and sapphires are a 9.
It is not recommended to make rings from any stone lower than a 7 on the Mohs scale as this represents a softer stone more liable to be damaged.
2. The metal
Traditionally, engagement and wedding rings are made from gold or platinum. The purity of the gold used when making the ring is an important consideration for the designer.
What does carat mean?
Carat is a unit of measurement that shows the purity of the gold. A carat is divided into 24 parts and the purity is defined a bit like a fraction.
24 carat gold means that it is 100% gold with no other alloy.
18 carat gold is 75% pure, with 18 parts gold to 6 parts alloy.
14 carat gold is around 60% pure, with 14 parts gold to 10 parts alloy.
9 carat gold is around 37% pure, with 9 parts gold to 15 parts alloy.
Note: different countries have very different expectations when it comes to carat weight of gold. In South Asian countries anything less than 18 carat is not usual, for example so do look into the market in the country you live in to see what is normally required.
What is an alloy?
An alloy is the metal mixed with the pure gold to create any carat weight under 24 carat. Alloys can be silver, copper, zinc, nickel, palladium or platinum. The alloy also helps determine the value of the metal, with the platinum being the most expensive.
Which metal should I choose?
You would discuss this with your customer and get an idea of their expectations. However, as engagement and wedding rings are designed to be worn every day they are more susceptible to wear and tear. The more precious the metal the softer it is so although 24 carat gold is the finer and more precious choice, 18 carat or 9 carat may be a better choice because it is likely to last longer and need less repairs.
3. the size
If you are making an engagement ring as a commission you don’t always know the correct ring size. Ask your customer to try to get the size by checking the recipient’s jewellery box for another ring and measuring that.
However, if you aren’t able to get the exact size the average size for a woman’s ring is size L (UK) size 6 (USA). The average man’s ring size is T and a half (UK) size 10 (USA) .
It is best to make the ring larger than required as it is easier to re-size down rather than up.
You can advise your customer that any re-sizing can be done by a high street jeweller - it doesn’t necessarily have to be done by you.
4. The wedding ring
It is important that the metals of an engagement ring and a wedding ring are the same or a similar hardness. If one is a softer metal than the other it can be worn down when they naturally rub together through wear. When you are working with a client on commission for an engagement ring it is worth discussing this with them.
You will also want to ensure that the shapes of the rings fit nicely together. If the wedding ring is thicker than the engagement ring, for example, the stone on the ring may damage the wedding ring so designing the wedding band to fit well with the engagement ring is worth the effort!
If you would like to learn how to make a 4 clay setting engagement ring then we have the perfect online course for you!
Taught by expert jeweller, Hayley Kruger, in this courses you will learn to:
Measure the stone and create a bespoke setting
Construct the claw from wire, sheet metal or tube
Solder all the elements in place
Create the ring shank and measure to fit
Refine the setting and set the stone
Polish and finish the work to a professional standard
As well as how to work with clients and manage the commission relationship
This course is suitable for jewellers who have experience of working with sheet silver metal and are competent at soldering and basic stone setting.
If you are new to working with silver but would like to give it a try take a look at our beginners course The Silver Jewellery Workshop, the Soldering Masterclass and Stone Setting in Silver first.