My apologies everyone, new to the forum and assumed a user’s prior posts were easily visible! This is the original post for some more background but TLDR:
- I have done every bit of opal research imagineable, including talking to dozens of miners, cutters, jewellers, and wearers in the heart of Lightning Ridge.
- Ring for my partner, I’m not a professional (first timer actually) but this is very much what she wants and me creating it is a meaningful part of the gesture and a representation of our love languages.
- The opal isn’t changing, and since that post I have settled for no cap (for now, ring is subject to change with the meaning being more important than the metal).
- It is going to be 14K white gold so I’d rather get it as manageable as possible in CAD and go very slowly in setting it.
I like the idea of mounting it from the back but without the time/skill/gold to waste I’m looking to cast to eliminate any soldering etc. A smaller bezel sounds like the way to go, I think given what I’ve learnt playing with wax I’m going to be comfortable modeling it in cad with a thin wall. Originally thinking it needed to be perfect, I’m now OK with the accuracy I’ll be able to get, and a bit of working the gold if need be.
@jeffg-moderator I love the idea of the setting providing more protection, but if I’m understanding correctly that would be if I wasn’t setting from the top? If I’m using a thin bezel the height of the setting would be dictated by the thickness?
Looking around online I’m thinking 0.5mm would be a good bezel thickness, somewhere in the middle of workable and still protecting the opal a bit?
Height is completely flexible with cad/print/cast too, so I’m thinking 1mm above the turning point of the opal?
Thanks again!