I have a commission to make an eternity band using 13 cushion cut
stones ma= tched fairly close at approximately 5x 5 mm. I want to
use 18kt palladium white gold.I am having trouble deciding whether to
carve a wax and cast it or fabricate the ring. Each process will
present its own set of challenges, My preference is to fabricate but
fabricating for cushion cut is not quite as easy as fabricating for
round. Carving a wax is no problem for me but casting 18kt palladium
white has certain risks as well. I am requesting opinions on the
pro’s and cons thanks - goo
Hi Goo,
I have an eternity ring made with 15.33ct rounds and it is cast
platinum.
It is gorgeous!
Yes, fabricated is strong, and has its qualities but a cast ring is
not hing to sneeze at, plus you have less filings and scrap. With
the cost of platinum right now being less than gold, you might
consider platinum as being in the ballpark. If you don’t cast in
platinum, make your wax and h ave someone else cast it for you. Just
a thought. I’m obviously a platinum fan even though I don’t work with
it, yet.
Let us know how it goes, and I’d love to see the finished ring.
Nel
If I was doing it, I’d carve it. With stones that large I will
usually melt the stones into the wax to get an absolutely perfect fit
and get the culets just a hair off the finger, everything square and
exactly the same height. I make the prongs or channels just right,
trim it all up so I have little to do after casting, then it’s time
to carefully remove the stones. Before I do that I will mark the
stones, using a marker, with a code and add a corresponding mark
(tiny bead(s) of wax) on the model, that way I know exactly which
stone goes in which seat and even which corner of the stone goes
where. It makes setting goo (that was a typo but I left it for you
Goo) dramatically faster. If casting is a concern, then just send it
out.
Mark
If you don't cast inplatinum, make your wax and h ave someone else castit for you.
This question is pretty much six of one, a half dozen of the other.
I’ll do it either way, depending on my mood and the time frame, and
the scrap issue is not insignificant. One thing I will say is that
if your caster wants to use 950 cobalt, then run the other way just
as fast as you can. That stuff is an abomination. There’s just
nothing good about it. If you’re getting IrPt then it really doesn’t
matter much which way you do it…