QuestionI want to learn how to make simple 14K white gold channel set band rings for myself, because I prefer a variety of colored diamonds and stones instead of white. I have bought channel set rings with white diamonds, but rings with other stones of lesser value (citrine, sapphire) are twice the price??? Is there a place that will sell me the empty rings so that I can put my own stones in? I called Rio Grande but they won't talk to me because I am not a "jewelry maker" since I want to make these rings for myself. I just want to try to learn something new and end up with a ring or two that I really like. Thanks!!!
AnswerHello Pam,
the easiest way to fabricate one, without buying a pre-cast setting from Stuller, CGM, Metalliferous, Rosenthal, Eastern Findings, or Rio Grande- (never tell them you aren't a jeweler if you want a product that a seller carries- the reason is ethics:If everyone that decided they could do what a jeweler does there would be no livelihood in the business for independent jewelers that make a living from sourcing wholesale supplies or jewelry and metalsmithing students and hobbyist jewelers that can open accounts of varying pricing structures..Thus a vendor's reluctance to sell to the general public is to protect the interests of their customer base), among some of the myriad of vendors out there, is to buy square wire and a length of karated white gold ( although I recommend buying Palladium which is a platinum group metal with a higher perceived value and cheaper than gold products at the moment/ current market prices.You are then not paying for white gold - which is hard to work, and is more nickel than gold in 14kt.!) sheet from a company like Hoover and Strong that sells raw materials. You would also need a torch (oxygen acetylene or propane or a spirit lamp and blowpipe or a butane torch, soldering brick, or charcoal block, flux, anti-firescale coating ( methyl alcohol and boric acid or a product called Cupronil that works as both flux and firecoat), files, pliers, a leather mallet, ring mandrel or round rod of the diameter you need to make x size ring,the proper karat and colour solder to match your metal and then in hard and medium tempers in sheet or clipped form a ruler that is calibrated into millimeters, and calipers, dividers, and a scribing tool, a saw frame and blades ( or you could pay for the raw materials seller to cut your stock into the exact size eeded from the minimum amount of stock required for purchase ( usually a 1 inch x .5inch piece or 5 pennyweights of say, 24 gauge sheet would be an example, however most commonly a ring is at least 55mm's in length laid flat- so you would need about .5inches x a 2inch strip just to fabricate a ring that is 1/4 inch wide- allowing for any mistakes you may make as a novice jeweler..in other words, you are looking at about 600 dollars US in materials before the cost of the white metal of choice, and without experience whatsoever in soldering,probably closer to a thousand for gold and 850 for palladium, and less yet for silver which is actually harder to work than higher karat gold ( 18 or above)..( unless you have a friend or jewellery school in your community at which you could either buy a small amount of metals and solders or access the tools and equipment necessary to fabricate your piece). That is all before instructions....which If i were to type here would take about 3 more hours to fully and correctly explain providing you have zero knowledge going into the project- a good basic must read book to begin learning jewellery making is Tim McCreight's " The Complete Metalsmith". It is available at libraries and booksellers widely in may editions including the Pro edition with a cd-rom that demonstrates some processes...but is intended for novices, students and those with some background in jewelry making.An afternoon at a barnes & noble or any bookseller that will let you read in store would be advisable..
The other solution would be to get some large cuttlefish bone pieces (halves) from a pet supply store and a crucible ( from Finding king on Ebay- the cheapest source) and palladium or white gold casting grain ( from Hoover and Strong in the USA or Cooksons in the UK) and simply carve your channel setting flat into the bone, accounting for the diameter and cut of the stones you want to use, and the depth of channel and width of the finished ring and length before bending it round a mandrel to solder it closed with a butane torch and hard solder to match the metal you end up using. Then you must cut a perfectly level seat in the channel with burs that fit the Dremel tool to accept each stone's quirks/idiosyncrasies ,unless they are all perfectly matched and machine cut of the same size and origin..which means sourcing them as well- although Hoover and Strong also sells stones, as does jewelry TV ( JTV sells retail stones to the general public). You would also need a dremel tool at least , or a pendant motor/flexshaft at best( foredom or buffalo dental supply both sell them) with which to cut the seats and finish and polish the ring, among other processes after you melt your metal and pour your ring into the pieces of cuttlebone masking taped to a firebrick with a proper channel for the metal to flow through ( carved into the bone ) that is as wide as the strip and with some pencil lines leading away from the design to divert gasses from the metal hitting the bone. You will need to insure the strip is carved level in the bone with calipers or a ruler and dividers, keeping in mind while carving the channel walls thick enough to hold the stones securely and to account for the depth of the seat's cut that will hold the stones level in the setting and keep them from rocking,.All the while insuring the walls are tall enough to protect the stone's cullet (tip) and accounting for some edge over the table of the stones to protect them from being knocked about in daily wear . A pickle pot ( dilute sulfuric acid or pool pH down in solution ) is necessary to remove the flux glass after you solder the ring closed, once you have refined the channel walls with files or abrasive discs of silicone impregnated with various grits of silicone carbide or pumice ,etc. so as to remove scratches, porosity that may occur and to generally clean up the walls, and bottom of the channel and set the stones after you have poured it and quenched in water and once cool enough to remove from the bone).and a mallet and punch to close the walls without breaking the stones, or closing them too far before inserting them in sequence as far around the band as is desired..
That said, you can do it yourself, but channel setting is more about precision than any other fabrication style. Other than buying a pre- azured setting ready to drop in stones that you have used your burs in a flexshaft or with gravers to modify for your stones you will need to then close the walls down by using a leather or rosewood mallet and a setting punch ( which can be made of a masonry nail with the top's ends ground down or filed to rounded and faces matted so it doesn't slip and damage the setting and the stones) you tube has some good instructional videos online. bench tv.com is another resource that I believe is free.
If after considering what i have written thus far, if you still want to try it yourself as opposed to going to a local independent jeweler ( which if i knew where you were i could recommend a colleague or reliable and honest artisan) and having them fabricate , at least the setting for you, I will be happy to go through the explanation of "how-to" if you think you have or can access the proper tools and can find a dealer willing to sell you the raw materials and stones ( square wire and sheet as a minimum in the metal of choice with matching coloured hard and easy solders in the minimum purchase amount- and whatever stones in whatever size desired or I can simply sell you some of my own inventory if you can't find a source locally or online- or put together a kit for you ) Either way you are looking at a good bit of money just to have the absolute necessities in an economy grade of tools and the correct amount plus a bit for mistakes in a high karat gold or palladium metal and the market price on the stones in the type and colours you desire.
I will say it can be as easy as soldering two lengths of square wire to a strip of metal, cutting a seat for the stones given their cut ( the stone's shape :round, baguette,emerald, or square) pickling it, then setting the stones, closing the walls over them nicely and doing the final polishing and/or texturing ,.If you will write to me at my personal email : vieuxcarrejewelers@gmail.com and I will be happy to assist you further. I in no way want to discourage you, just that i don't have the time to fully write out the instructions at the moment, as just this took three hours of fairly fast composition and it will truly take hours more since you have no experience.If you do have some experience and tools please tell me what you have in the reply email and I will assist you from there. What you seek to do can be done reasonably with some patience and precise measurements and a good idea of what the processes involved- even with a pre -cast and pre -azured setting ( that is cast or cut so that the light enters from the bottom of the place for each stone to sit to allow the most light to refract through it to enhance the cut and shape you wish to use) there is a certain amount of know-how necessary to secure the stones.Nothing mystical or shrouded in jewelers agency, but some basic skills required to protect the sheer cost involved in making the rings you want.As I said I can sell you the raw materials and instruct you, but please consider all before jumping into something that may be beyond what you expected. I'll look for your email in my inbox!
Best regards, Ari
