So this is what I do folks.

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siptang

Guest
I'm a jeweler by trade. I create many custom things but my passion is rings.
Rings forge marriages, signifies love and personality of the one who bears it.
I love the sparkle of women's eyes when they find that "perfect" ring and it makes all the hard work really worth it.
Recently Jeff, a member from here, has asked me to design a ring for his wife for anniversary present and since I got so much support from here, I happily obliged.
I gave him my pricing from the whole sales + small commission for gas + food expanse. (He just put all the corals in my tank!)
This was the design that he found on-line that incorporated his idea + her birthstone colored stone. In this case, sapphires.
After going to numerous gem labs and whole sales, I was able to find the rock that was able to meet Jeff's standards. (funny because he was the first guy I went to)
Round was too boring and square cut left design flaws and then I found this beautiful pear shape diamond that shouted class and boldness to the one who wears it.
As Jeff puts it, I 'hit a home run with this stone.'

We got to work and then according to his specifications, we started custom mold the ring with the wax. Then purchased 2 1ct sapphires with perfect matching colors with perfect quality (no inclusions) to cut it down to .75 - .80 each.

Then from the wax molding, we cast into 18k white gold mount then set all the stone and high polished the ring to have that radiant shine.
mg alt="IMAG0066.jpg" src="https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/data/6/67/67b52dd0_IMAG0066.jpg

I made it into a traditional thick band in the bottom to make sure it withstands the time.
Looks much better then the original picture he sent right? ;)
Also engraved J (heart symbol) D.
I just wanted to share with you guys that this is what I do for living and that this is what I have been doing last couple of weeks.
Congrats Jeff on your anniversary, and please be sure to let me know how your wife reacts to this!
Richard.
 
S

siptang

Guest
Meowser - My expertize is in jewelry in general, if you have any questions about it you can ask me. I won't mind. ;) As I told Jeff or my other friend's I don't care if they buy from me or not, I just don't want them to get ripped off.
 
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siptang

Guest
Thank you thank you.
I'm very proud of my work and it really does make me feel good when other people enjoy them as well.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
i cant wait to see this thing.richard will mail it out in the next couple days.i have told my wife i have seen pics but off limits to her.she is trying to not ask about it.but knowing her its eating at her.
she only knows a small bit of what it is .she knows its a diamond with sapphire sides and white gold and thats about it.
i will deffinitly let you guys know what she says.
richard has just been awesome to work with and i am so happy i made a great friend out of this.
 
S

siptang

Guest
Thanks guys for the kind words.
Gemmy - you do that lol.
snakeblitz - thanks.
jp - I did have alot of other pictures in fact but my stupid phone broke and lost alot of them... (I designed one ring for drummer for the commodores and pendants for bone thugs & harmony in the past and those were one of my best work)
But here is something that I have been working on for a local hip hop artist.

This is what we started with.

This is how I finished it.
2ct diamonds, custom made letters from scratch and bezel and such. Little gaudy for my taste but hey whatever floats his boat. He plans to add more to it as time goes on.
btl - thanks, I'm glad you like them!
Like I mentioned before I'm really proud of my creations and I'm very happy that you guys like them as well.
All I can say is, you guys have good taste.
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
I got major brownie points for getting my wife's stuff custom make, I told her to draw the ring she wanted, then handed that to a guy, and he made it. It went over quite well...
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
funny i figured richard was just going to find a diamond and sides then pick a ring out of a book.i didnt expect him to buy a block of gold and two raw chunks of sapphires and do this.
pretty awesome skills.
 
S

siptang

Guest
Haha that would have been the easy way out.
No, on heavy diamond piece like this, nothing beats custom touches and like I said before, I want this to last our life time if not more.
In this line of work, it's all about fine details and I will tell you why this is better then getting it off from the book.
First, you pay more for names of the mount company but they tend to cut the corners to save money on the actual gold usage. Which equals not so good value for your money.
For example, if you look at the very first picture, prongs, the hook like material holding the center diamond together is thin and rather frail. (not many people would notice that but I'm jeweler and I can see what potential mishaps may happen with cheap fixtures.) If wife was in hurry and something gets hitched, bye bye expensive center piece. I would be pissed for days. Wouldn't you be since the center piece is the life the ring and the money rock?
Now compare it with my finished product picture 1,2 and take a look at the side prongs as well as the center prongs.
Also on the first pictures sides are empty on the stones so main stone and the side stones are exposed thus making it vulnerable to possible damages in case of any other mishaps.
Diamonds are hard but they do break with enough force.You can fix gold but you can't fix diamonds and the enclosure i made below the stone to make sure the side doesn't show much. Using more gold = more money from my part but I would rather cover all the bases for you and keep my customers happy.
I believe honesty is key to success in any business and in any relationship.
I had some money left over from the side stone estimate and instead of pocketing it, I upgraded the gold to higher carat without any additional charge. (originally we were planning on 14k mount. now it is an 18k mount)
Good thing we got it early too Jeff because we got it when gold was 157x.xx per ounce... as of today it's 173x.xx per ounce.
yea.. crazy...
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
I am not a jeweler... but an antiques dealer that focuses on fine art, antique silver, and porcelain... if that answers your question.
Age doesn't always matter, but it's experience and knowledge that does.
 
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