I have a client who wants me join her diamond wedding band, and
diamond engagement ring together, so that they do not continually
separate on her finger. The diamond in the engagement ring is (about
1 carat), surrounded by smaller full cut diamonds, all individually
set (not pave). The engagement ring tends to roll around to the
underside of her finger…
I suggested making it smaller, but she does not want that, as she
says th at often her fingers swell, and she prefers the ring the
size that it is. Al so, she does not want any kind of a remaking of
the shank, nor does she want small balls soldered in the shank.
Furthermore, she does not want them joined permanently, as sometimes
she only wears the wedding band alone.
Is something in the way of a clip that I can either make, or
purchase ready made that can serve as a temporary means of joining
the rings? I o nly need one… The rings are white gold.
Alma one solution, depending on how the rings are made, is a ball and
socket system. Depending on which ring she wishes to wear alone. You
solder a small piece of wire with a ball on the end to one edge of
the ring then drill a hole just slightly smaller than the ball in the
other shank so it will snap in to the hole. You have to enlarge
behind the edge of the hole a little so the ball will snap in. You
can also use a t shaped key to fit and turn in a slot. Either way
keeps the rings together. If she wants to wear each ring separate at
one time you can put the ball or the key on a hinge joint so i
swings up into the shank, if there is room to do that. Hope this
makes sense. Be glad to go into more detail if you need it.
Thank you Frank for your suggestions regarding the rings. I will
discuss this with my client.
So far she has been adamant that she does not want any modification
of the ring such as changing the shanks etc…
I am beginning to think that it may be best if I decline the job as
I have a feeling that she may prove to be a bit difficult to work
with, as so far she has rejected every suggestion I have made.
Just say NO. You don’t need or want the problems you will get with
this lady… I had a similar situation and I was thinking, I can do
this and I did what she asked and she liked nothing about it.
Complained to everyone about it. I gave it to her and eat the cost.
you can buy very small neodynium magnets, like 1mm in diameter,
drill a hole in the ring, and push the magnet in, and then gold
plate the magnet (make sure you can gold plate a magnet) and it
could work… maybe put a few around the ring, like 3-4
So far she has been adamant that she does not want any
modification of the ring such as changing the shanks etc..
Alma, many years ago, I recall being able to get a sort of two ring
clip that did what your customer wants. A small curved piece of sheet
metal went inside the shanks of both rings at the bottom, covering
just the width of the rings, and being perhaps a quarter inch long.
it had a small hole drilled and threaded at it’s center point.
Another curved piece of metal, this one with two grooves shaped into
it’s inside surface and another, undrilled hole in the center. The
rings were placed onto the smooth plate, the second grooved plate
put on the outside, and a small screw that went from the outside,
between the two ring shanks, and screwed into the inner plate, held
everything together. The outer plate was shaped to come around the
sides of the shanks enough so the shanks could not twist out of the
clip. These held a wedding set together without any modifications to
the rings. But it wasn’t a simple slip on, slip off clip. You needed
to at least be able to work with a tiny screw, roughly the size,
only shorter, as most eyeglass frame screws. Not all customers are
willing to fuss with that, much less able to not loose the screw when
the clip is loose.
I haven’t seen such a clip for sale in several decades. But the idea
is still sound enough, and if you wanted, you could make such a
thing. But given the fuss of putting it on or taking it off, it’s
hardly a make up your mind each day whether to use it or not. It
would be easier for your customer to just use a bit of flexible
band-aid type tape to hold them together. Works for high school
girls, why not the older ones too, especially when they’re being as
fussy and hard to please as any junior high school girl trying to
stick with her clique’s fashion statements of the day…
you can buy very small neodynium magnets, like 1mm in diameter, drill
a hole in the ring, and push the magnet in, and then gold plate the
magnet (make sure you can gold plate a magnet) and it could work…
maybe put a few around the ring, like 3-4
Rare earth magnets are great, but you should be forewarned that they
are extremely heat sensitive and will lose their strength if you heat
them. You should look up the specs on them if you’re considering
going that route.
Alma, we had ~many people for Easter, so this is Monday. What your
customer wants is largely impossible. “I want them to stay together
but I don’t want them fixed together and I want you to do it all
without altering the rings”. Think about it… Go with these:
very true, but i think if you drilled the hole precisely, and then
friction fit the magnet in you’d be fine. No need for any heat.
maybe even some epoxy to really seal the deal.
Rare earth magnets are great, but you should be forewarned that
they are extremely heat sensitive and will lose their strength if
you heat them. You should look up the specs on them if you're
considering going that route.
You can buy them gold plated, I picked up hundreds for a couple of
dollars
As to magnets losing their magnetic ability when heat is applied,
it’s very true. I was testing the critical temperature in a piece of
red hot steel, and got the magnet a little too close… no more
magnet, just a chunk of metal.
Well, once again I presented the client with all the suggestions the
kind people on Orchid sent me, and again, she rejected them. So. I
told her that I did not have any more suggestions. She then decided
that she would put up with the ring that flipped around. We parted on
good terms.
The device that Peter is referring to may be the “Ever-Fit Ring
Guard”, still available from the manufacturer in Michigan. We bought
a kit years ago and they do work well in these sorts of situations.
Thanks Greg for the about the “Ever Fit Ring Guard,” Even
though I am no longer working with the client who vetoed every
suggestion that was made, I will order some of those to keep on hand
should another client require one.
Rose, the magnet idea sounds feasible. However, I am no longer
working with the client. No matter what I suggested, she vetoed it.
She was adamant that the shanks are not to be reshaped, drilled into,
or “tampered” her words, with in any way. She is a nice lady, but
difficult to work with.