Hey all. I have a friend / customer that really wants me to make his
engagement ring since I’m friends with him and especially his
girlfriend. He has a 2carat round diamond. He wants to use platinum
and titanium in the design. I can do the platinum part, but… I’ve
never worked with titanium. Can one solder (and how) two titanium
bands to either side of a platinum (or White gold, I guess maybe)
ring? How does one shape titanium with a file and can I polish at my
bench and with my buffing wheel? Please help. I’ve told him that I
know nothing about titanium and that I don’t think I can even work
with it. He keeps asking though. I wish this were just a customer and
not a friend and I could just say “no” and send them to the internet.
Also if someone out their casts titanium etc.maybe we can all solve
this problem. He wants the ring one week before XMAS.
This is a difficult job. You cannot solder to titanium without
specialized tools and brazing material. You also can’t solder the
platinum with standard platinum solders once it is connected to the
Titanium as you may melt the titanium and or possibly set it on fire.
The way I would approach it is to make a platinum band 1-1.5 mm thick
and as wide as your design calls for and its diameter large enough to
just slip over the titanium band you will make next. Make a Grade 2
titanium band with a channel in it on a lathe. Make it 2 sizes too
small and make the channel the width of the platinum + 0.1 mm and the
depth about.5mm. Then cut the overall band width to suit your design.
Slide the platinum band over the titanium one and then stretch the
titanium band up to size capturing the platinum band in the channel
in the process. Then to set the diamond use a peg setting and drill
the hole for the peg in the band then use a ball burr to open the
hole on the inside of the shank slightly and use a laser welder to
weld the peg to the titanium. The widening of the hole with the bur
will allow the platinum from the peg to create in essence a rivet
head and between that and the welding of the platinum to the titanium
you will have a moderately strong bond. This would be my biggest area
of concern is the strength of the peg to hold the 2 ct setting in
place. you could also try to solder the setting on the Platinum band
before stretching the titanium band up but this can be difficult if
you don’t get quite enough stretching of the titanium band to
mechanically lock the platinum into the channel you will not be able
to compress the platinum band in a shrinker with a setting in place.
I make channel bands like this in titanium but not with setting on
the insert so this advise is worth what you paid for it
Jim
James Binnion @James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
Titanium Casting: http://www.tinomics.com Nice folks, too. There’s a
reply to this by Jim Binnion - all good advise except, as he points
out, I wouldn’t depend on a rivet to hold a 2ct. diamond. I mean, I
WOULDN’T. That really, really fails the cost/risk test. Making a
whole plate that holds a securely soldered setting and using 4
rivets, yes. Just riveting the peg on a setting - no, not me.
