Hello Folks,
I have a titanium ring blank with an inlay. I’d like to use some meteorite shavings, crushed diamonds, and Australian opal to make a cool space-themed ring similar to the Patrick Adair Design Star Dust ring.
I’m a novice, never made any jewelry before and I have some questions about the opals and epoxy or glue to use. I have several raw Australian opals and opal rubs between 1 - 10 cts. My plan was to remove the impurities / potch with a dremel. Then, polish each opal. Then, crush it. If I’m able, polish the new rough edge. Then, crush it again until I get it into 1-2mm pieces and use it in the inlay. I’d put the meteorite shavings and diamond dust as a backdrop, so the opals aren’t buried but add a splash of blue/green color, overfill the inlay with these ingredients and use either CA glue or epoxy 330 to keep the materials in place. Then, use the dremel to grind down the inlay and polish the ring.
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Would you recommend using E330, CA glue, or something else for this project? I don’t want it to yellow later on and want everything to hold well.
I read on this forum that black or dark gray JB Weld was recommended so should I put a dab of that down and place the opal pieces on that, let it cure and use E330 or a thin CA glue on the surface? -
Does my plan for the opals sound alright or would you recommend a different approach? I want to make sure the colors really pop nicely. I was concerned if I didn’t polish the opal ahead of time, then pieces that remained below the surface of the finished ring wouldn’t shine as bright since they’d remain a more raw look.
Any help would be great. If you have a different approach you’d recommend, please let me know. Thanks. Kim