How are diamond engagement rings made?

Beyond the display windows of a jewelry shop, have you ever imagined what really goes in a workshop to make them? It requires a lot of dedication, patience, and craftsmanship to create a perfect diamond engagement ring London. From a consumer’s point of view, the entire process of buying a diamond ring involves selecting the metal, selecting the stone, and choosing the type of setting for mounting the diamond. There are 2 methods to create diamond engagement rings: casting and handmade. Let’s look at both the manufacturing processes in detail:

Casting

Casting is a common process practiced by the jewelers where a detailed mold is first made on the basis of the shape and design of the ring setting. It is cost-effective as the same mold can be used to make identical looking rings.

There is less metal wastage in this process as compared to handmade rings. It is also very used to make customized changes to an existing ring design by using computer-aided design models.

Step#1 – A wax model of the ring is created.

At first, a wax model of the ring is generated. This is performed either by a skilled craftsman who carves a design out of wax or 3D painting by making use of computer-aided designs.

Step#2 – A mold is made to cast the ring.

By making use of the wax model, a specialized plaster is poured to encase the wax ring. For the production of a large volume of products, the wax mods are grouped together to form a tree-like object.

After the plaster hardens, it is baked at a very high temperature to evaporate the wax. This leaves an impression of the cavity into the mould.

Step#3 –  The ring is casted with desired metals.

The hot moulded metal is then poured into the mould. This hardens to produce a raw casting. This procedure is usually carried out in a vacuum chamber to eliminate air voids and pits. This same mold can be used to create multiple rings of the same design several times.

Step #4 –  The raw casted part is polished.

The raw casted parts of the metal are removed individually. These are then made to undergo a series of the polishing process before they are assembled.

Step#5 –  The stone is mounted.

At first, the jeweler performs a measurement on the size of the diamond and customizes the head of the set accordingly so as to provide a snug fit for the center stone. Then the diamond is mounted carefully.

Step#6 – The ring is given a rhodium plating.

Multiple polishing steps are performed to provide a clean finish to the diamond engagement ring London. The ring setting is then buffed to give it a shiny luster. In case, white gold is being used for the setting, it is dipped into an electroplating solution to give it a coat of rhodium.

Handmade/ hand forged diamond ring fabrication process

Hand fabrication is a traditional way of creating jewelry where the cold-rolled metal wire is shaped into the required design. The final piece of jewelry is then formed through a process of cutting, hammering, annealing, and polishing.

However, hand forging a ring increases the cost of production and there can be slight variations in the design as the human element is involved in crafting the jewelry.

Step#1 – Band is created.

A metal bar (either platinum, white gold, etc.) is used to create the band. Then a bending machine is used to give a circular shape to the metal bar depending on the wearer’s finger size.

Step#2 – the band is closed

The band is then closed by soldering. This solder fills the gap between the two ends of the bar to create a circular ring. Then a flux paste is applied to prevent the bar from being oxidized at high temperatures

After the band is soldered, it is placed in a weak acidic solution to erode. This removes away the excess flus. The ring is then checked for the correct size and if necessary, adjustments are made to get the desired size.

Step#4 – making gem-setting

A piece of leftover metal is rolled to form a loop. This loop is placed into an oval setting punch. Then the metal gets shaped into a conic shape to hold the diamond.

A jeweler’s saw is used to make a wedge in the band to fix the cup. The cup is aligned and the two are soldered with the help of small specks of gold as filling. After it has been soldered, the inside curve is smoothened to remove any sort of rough edge.

Step 5 – The stone is mounted.

At first, the ring is kept in a thermoset plastic. The craftsmen then carve out a small seat for the stone in the cup. Then prongs are used to grip the diamond in place.

Step 6 – The ring is polished.

After the thermoplastic is removed, the halo engagement ring is put into hot water and washed thoroughly. Then the ring is polished and given some touch-ups to give it a nice luster. For white gold rings, the ring is given another rhodium plating to give a nice metallic sheen.