No how, no way, contrary to how light exits a diamond by the very
nature of why diamonds are faceted the way they are. Reflecting
and refracting light coming in the top, bouncing off the pavilion
facets, back through top of the diamond through the table and
crown facets.
True enough, but what about ambient light? Our world is the world of
reflected light.
If we are in a room, the ambient light is reflected light from all
the objects in this room, and color that we see is an amalgamation of
all the colors present. Remember GIA recommendation to color grade in
color neutral room!
Ambient light does not have a specific direction, so if we open
diamond pavilion to ambient light, it will be bombarded from every
direction and some rays will intersect with pavilion inside critical
angle and enter the stone. That was the idea behind Tiffany setting.
If that phenomena is taking into account in gallery design, the
effect will be magnified.
Ajouring got popular in the era before we had the current diamond
and colored stone cutting technology. Lots of roes cut stones and
round brilliants with big culets that leaked light out and candle and
gas lighting. Stones needed all brightening and help they could get
to sparkle.
A good ajour is highly polished and helps reflect back into the
stone.
In current times where we have much better cut stones, ajouring is
as much about making the unseen parts of jewelry as beautiful as the
parts viewed by the public. It’s the trademark of a finely crafted
piece. It is also a great way to lighten up the weight of a mounting
and save some metal.
I am going to have to agree with Leonid on two points:
CAD requires casting
It is not an organic/creative vehicle. (During one of my freelance
positions, the company specifically requested I not use CAD because
the designs werenever creative enough when their other designers had
used it.)
That being said, I don’t think this thread is constructive because
it feels that it has become an argument of absolutes.
CAD serves a purpose and is just one of the tools available to the
industry. It is not the solution to all questions or the reason for
all issues.
And if anyone is moving goalpost it is CAD crowd. They are
constantly trying to redefine parameters of the argument, hoping to
wiggle out of admitting their inability to produce a single example
of CAD/CAM/casting omnipotence. Their latest attempt was and
obvious flap. While I can understand their fervent search for Deus
Ex Machina, let me assure you that it is not forthcoming.
The original challenge was a casting challenge, if you want to go
that far back in time.
How we are going to judge the result ? In this preview, towards
the end of it, I have a freeze frame, showing 10x view if the ring
before polishing. That is the level of details, that I am looking
for.
It must be noted that there has never been more than one view of the
ring.
As soon as another view of the ring was provided CAD work was
completed in short order.
Leonid issued the challenge, I personally took it up for fun, and to
learn something. I can admit I’ve learned a lot, and more than I need
about human nature
As to something not forthcoming, just wait, the waxes should have
been printed over the week end, posted today, I should have them
soon
I am a old person who likes hand making things as Leonard… That said
and his thoughts on casting and CAD. I must point out that now there
is no need to cast a CAD produced piece. Now they can simply print
them in gold. No downside to casting needed and things that could
never be done by hand now can just be printed in 3 D. In metal…
At 66 years old I think I need to learn a new language if I am to do
what I love to do until the day I die. other wise I will be forced
to stop when my hands or eyes get too weak or shaky to continue to
do hand fabrication. I truly love making things by hand and will do
it as long as I can but refuse to stop creating when I am limited by
old age to create more pieces as when thattimes comes I do not see
any reason to live any longer., if I can no longergive something
positive to the world I do not see a reason why I need to behere…
Just my thoughts…
Nothing will ever beat hand made and nothing will ever beat
technology just as those who thought thousands of years ago that
there would be nothing that would replace the sail on a boat for
propelling you faster to your designation. Things change and are
different not always better but different. Just mythoughts. We are
all right…
That being said, I don't think this thread is constructive because
it feelsthat it has become an argument of absolutes.
I disagree with the above, the discussion is fascinating most of the
time, also what seems to be missed in Leonid arguments is the feel
and dedication in producing a handmade ring versus cad and casting
produce.
I fully understand the need for mass production and regrettably the
skills and feel from the ‘old guard’ will disappear, I bought the
eternity DVD and made the ring halve way including stone setting, it
was a great experience but blime me it is time consuming! I did it
just out curiosity and it is greatto do in spite of the poor quality
of the DVD Leonid is a very skilled man, but making a DVD is not his
greatest skill, still I will buy his next DVD, I have learnt so much
from it and one of this days I will make the complete rings, just
for the enjoyment of the art of producing a piece of art by hand.
To come back to this discussion, we are all grown ups, I hope we can
handle debate and disagreement and yes, some of us are a bit over
the top or ex centric, but that makes Ganoksin such a great side, it
is for me the first thing I read every morning.
I bought the eternity DVD and made the ring halve way including
stone setting, it was a great experience but blime me it is time
consuming! I did it just out curiosity and it is greatto do in
spite of the poor quality of the DVD Leonid is a very skilled man,
but making a DVD is not his greatest skill, still I will buy his
next DVD, I have learnt so much from it and one of this days I will
make the complete rings,
Peter and I exchanged email in regards to DVD quality. He made some
valid points and I accept his criticism in this regard. However, I
want to explain it.
I use classical music as a background and eliminate all shop noises.
Some express desire to have shop noises present. Audio for any movie
making must be processed in specific way. Frequencies generated by
act of sawing and filing could affect image quality and frankly not
very pleasant. Besides, they take space on DVD and contribute nothing
to educational experience.
Another complaint is the music itself. I have to admit that music
track on Eternity ring DVD is not the best. I had this idea at a time
that music should match every operation and the result is a
composition of many pieces of music not related to each other. I do
not do it anymore. I select a single piece for every chapter and use
specific arrangement to complement the subject of a chapter.
Some asked for totally eliminating music. I disagree! Hand
fabrication is not like anything else. One cannot do it, if one is in
bad mood, or cannot concentrate, or distracted from the process in
any way. I do not know of any other method to block the outside
world, than classical music. I understand that not everybody likes
it. That is because you were never properly introduced to it. Start
with Frederic Chopin Nocturnes and go from there. You work will
improve significantly.
Hand fabricating takes time and patience. It is not easy to sit 10
hours, day after day, working on details one cannot even see without
magnification. But that is what required. Classical music turns it
into enjoyable experience.
I do not mean to sound like a nutcase, but in someways your hands
express what your ears hear and it leaves an imprint on your work.
Regarding DVD quality in general. I do not just sit down and make
something, with camera running on the side. Believe it or not but is
a very deliberate process of deciding what to include in DVD.
Anything hand fabricated takes days, not hours. So footage which is
repetitious is eliminated. If some operation takes 20 minutes and
consist of piercing only, there is no point in showing it all. A
minute or so is enough. There are only room to fit 2 hours and 30
minutes on standard DVD. It is possible to use higher compression,
but it will result in lesser quality of video, which I don’t want to
do. Another option is to use several DVDs, but to do it just for
including repetitious footage is simply gratuitous.
DVDs emulates experience of an apprentice. It gives one ability to
stand on the side and see how a piece of metal transforms into
jewellery. Each and every knowledge point is shown. DVDs are
narrated, but primary learning channel is visual. They should be
judged not on entertaining value but by how much do you learn from
them.
In Tiffany when presented with a design, we had a choice of
fabricating it or casting. For me fabricating was easier most of
the time and faster, other chose casting route. The process was
very much different from what is used nowadays.
Tiffany is hiring for CAD/CAM operators… wonder what they are
going to do there…
I do not know of any other method to block the outside world, than
classical music.
Personally, I find it more difficult to concentrate on a task when
classical music is playing. Popular junk music I can ignore, but
good music calls for attention.
Tiffany is hiring for CAD/CAM operators. wonder what they are going
to do there....
I would think they are like any jewellery manufacturer today, they
use tools as they see fit. They are businesses, and are in it to make
money.
I was talking to a busy jeweller the other day, and he has to make
money and sometimes will use CAD, and casting because of the demands
placed on him by his clients.
As long as we’re on the subject of the Eternity Ring video, I do
have one question that I’ve wondered about: Why the voice
synthesizer? It’s a good voder, but it’s still pretty clearly a
synthesizer, which is a bit distracting.
I use classical music as a background and eliminate all shop
noises.
Some express desire to have shop noises present. Audio for any
movie making must be processed in specific way. Frequencies
generated by act of sawing and filing could affect image quality
and frankly not very pleasant. Besides, they take space on DVD and
contribute nothing to educational experience.
You sure about that? I frequently find that I can tell a lot about
how a student is cutting or filing, just by listening to them. From
across the room, some days.
For many of us, being able to hear the tool noises would be most
useful.
Some asked for totally eliminating music. I disagree! Hand
fabrication is not like anything else. One cannot do it, if one is
in bad mood, or cannot concentrate, or distracted from the process
in any way. I do not know of any other method to block the outside
world, than classical music. I understand that not everybody likes
it. That is because you were never properly introduced to it.
Start with Frederic Chopin Nocturnes and go from there. You work
will improve significantly.
Sorry Leonid, we’ll have to disagree on this one. I have been
properly introduced to it. I’ve listened to the Vienna Philharmonic
in the Musikverein. Repeatedly. While I found it technically
interesting to hear it the way it was supposed to sound, it still
wasn’t my cup of tea. In matters of taste, there are no absolutes.
Hand fabricating takes time and patience. It is not easy to sit 10
hours, day after day, working on details one cannot even see
without magnification. But that is what required. Classical music
turns it into enjoyable experience.
I do not mean to sound like a nutcase, but in someways your hands
express what your ears hear and it leaves an imprint on your work.
Indeed. And agreed, shockingly enough, with the proviso that the
music that eases one’s day need not necessarily be classical.
I’ve been known to engrave while singing along with Stan Rogers. Or
forging to Nine Inch Nails. (Although I will admit that the “O
Fortuna” passage of the Carmina Burana makes good forging music, and
I’m fond of the anvil chorus for the same reasons.)
That being said, I don't think this thread is constructive because
it feels that it has become an argument of absolutes.
I disagree with this also. At times a tedious argument but overall
it is very interesting.
First ring did not quite make it, what does first time out?
It will be very interesting to see Charles’ version. Also the post
that it can be printed in gold is interesting let’s see one.
I think that we may see a CAD piece that needs to be hand finished
to meet Leonid’s dimensions.
If it can be done in CAD can CAD set the stones, can they be cast in
place?
The price of printing seems prohibitive for work in sterling, but in
gold is very close to CNC made jewellery.
As the cost of 3D printers is getting under $1000 they will soon be
in many workshops. But as always it will come down to the design
skills of the jeweller.
Some asked for totally eliminating music. I disagree! So do I. I
think that would be terrible. The music sets a mood and a pace, and
draws one in. Instructional DVDs generally lack drama, some
procedures are just plain slow, and music serves as a bridge from
point to point. I've found all of the music Leonid has used to be
interesting and often elegant. I know taste in music differs from
person to person and not much can be done to please everyone, but
eliminating music from the DVDs would be a terrible loss.
I do not just sit down and make something, with camera running on
the side. Believe it or not but is a very deliberate process...
When I saw the original post about DVD quality I thought to comment
on, it but didn’t at the time. Everyone is used to incredibly high
video production quality from decades of exposure to movies and
television. They call it high production values in the industry. It
is easy to not think about what it takes to accomplish that. A
fortune in equipment and software. The combined effort of many
skilled technicians. Hours and hours of editing. It would be nice to
see that in instructional DVDs, but it is quite unreasonable to
expect that when the audience will be small and the return on
investment small or non-existent. I’ve done hundreds of hours of
videos for myself and for others. It is tedious labor. You make a
great effort to do as good a job as possible, often at significant
cost to yourself, and generally get no thanks for it. Leonid’s DVDs
are not Hollywood quality, but the point of his DVDs is teaching
advanced goldsmithing. They do the job. I don’t know of any other
jewelry fabrication DVDs that present projects /anywhere near/ this
level. For those who want to learn and who do not have access to
personal instruction from a master goldsmith, they are an incredible
resource.
Here are the waxes from my attempt for you to look at. The delivery
of the wax took longer than expected as the printing house printed in
another state for some reason, next time I will ask that the print
job be done in my state so I can have a 24 hour turn around for wax
and casting (live and learn I guess :-D)
The potential for CAD to create delicate designs is not an issue,
translating that into wax is also not really an issue. However the
next step will be to see if these waxes will cast well, and will be
able to accept stones.
Here is the Leonid’s original first image and my take on it. There
is a little schmutz on the ring, due to my poor photography skills,
and sorry for the big chunk of blu-tack I didn’t have any clear wax
for the light box. I could have made the the claws a bit finer, but I
wanted to be kind to the setter. I’ve also tried to allow a little
bit more light to get to the stones, and to push the envelope a
little further, I’ve removed a bit of metal here and there.
I have kept the original working files as a base, I can manipulate
the design quite easily to, not only resize them, but customise them
further. It’s very easy to make jewellery this way. would I make
jewellery this way all the time. not a chance, I like getting my
hands dirty
I’m leaning towards the heavier rings myself, and I like the one
with more metal.
As long as we're on the subject of the Eternity Ring video, I do
have one question that I've wondered about: Why the voice
synthesizer? It's a *good* voder, but it's still pretty clearly a
synthesizer, which is a bit distracting.
Simple answer is because I cannot afford Charles Heston caliber
narrator.
I think it is a better option, rather than imposing on viewers my
accent.
About shop noises. I mentioned before that frequencies generated by
filling and sawing affects video quality. There are broadcast filters
that are used when filming for TV, but it defies the purpose.
All odd harmonics are eliminated and you are not going to hear what
you are looking for. So it becomes simply a waste of valuable DVD
space.
Tiffany is hiring for CAD/CAM operators. wonder what they are
going to do there....
Probably model making, as a first step. Much of Tiffany"s designer
jewelry is cast.
Much of what we buy in manufactured consumer goods is produced from
computer aided design (rendering and modeling). Machine tools already
make most of the parts, from screws to drilling circuit boards, to
machining cases, it is mostly automated.
I was at the vet’s this weekwith a sick barn kitty; the vet tech was
wearing a heavy chain necklace with a heart shaped tag hanging from
it. Since I’ve been playing with chain making lately, I commented on
it, at which point, the tech said it was from " a jewelry store
called Tiffany’s". I didn’t ask to inspect it closer, but wondered
what a young vet tech in Podunk, Florida was doing wearing a
Tiffany’s piece as everyday wear.
I do not know of any other method to block the outside world, than
classical music. I understand that not everybody likes it. That is
because you were never properly introduced to it. Start with
Frederic Chopin Nocturnes and go from there. You work will improve
significantly.
I have always preferred to work with classical music playing, though
I dislike headphones (with glasses, loupes, optivisors or whatever,
just too much already on my head), so in shops requiring them, I
usually do without, and try to tune out the ambient noise. But some
of my best work has always been with classical music in the
background. Bach is often my first choice. Glenn Gould on the piano,
or Hilary Hahn on violin, Mstislav_Rostropovich on cello. Mozart is
next. Usually, those two composers will do it for me (though there
are, of course, many many more, and sometimes I mix it up with
others). Something about the sheer perfection of each and every note
in these two that inspires similar attention from me. Sometimes, it’s
just the local classical music radio station, and whatever they’re
playing. Usually fine choices, and if not to my liking, a couple
button pushes goes back to the CDs. Occasionally, I can get into
ethnic or folk music, but usually it’s classical. Jazz pretty much
annoys the hell out of me, and Rock and Roll makes my ears jittery or
distracted or even angry, with hands following suit. Fortunately, I’m
usually able to just tune it out, though 40s era swing and jazz.
Nope. Time for a coffee break when that comes on. Damn, but I’m
narrow minded when it comes to music.
