I am wondering how others make two toned wedding bands like the
following example. A 7mm wide band with a 4mm center section that is
yellow gold (and is continuous around the ring), with 1.5mm side
rails that are white gold and the white gold goes all the way under
the yellow inlay. The trick is that there can be no solder involved
in the assembly.
I have to make these periodically in the shop and have my own method
(which I will describe). But when I see manufacturers versions of
this style, they seem to have been made differently than my method.
So I am curious how they do it and how anyone else does it.
My method; I will carve or turn or mill the wax for what will be the
white gold body of the ring. It will be 7mm wide (not comfort fit
even if the finished piece will be) and about 2.5mm thick. I will
mark the 1.5mm rails on each outer edge with a divider, then cut a
nice even 4mm wide slot through the center and around the entire
ring. I will cut it about 1.25mm deep. this wax is now ready to
cast.
I then measure the diameter of the wax I just carved, in the groove.
That gives me the finger size of the 4mm inlay ring I need to carve.
I carve a 4mm wide wax band to the size I just found and keep it
about 1.25-1.5mm thick.
After I cast my two components and refinish them, I shrink one side
of the white gold band down until the yellow gold sleeve will slip
over and into the slot. Then I stretch the shrunken side of the band
back up to size and check that the yellow gold inlay is tight.
Then it’s just a matter of finishing. I did not want to cut the
comfort fit until after assembly because that would interfere with
stretching it back up. So that’s my method, I left out a few things
just to make it shorter, and I know we could buy the ring in the
description already made…but you get the idea. Anybody have
alternative methods?
Mark