A Creation Story - Custom Three Stone Diamond Ring

I was contacted by a successful businesswoman who lives in Maryland. She had lost all hope of ever having a substantial diamond ring for her very tiny size 4 finger. I had recently designed a necklace for a colleague of hers and in her words I was her "last hope". 

Simply put, she wanted a large three stone diamond ring - the center about 1.5 cts and the two side diamonds to be a "big as possible without looking like side stones". 

Mary had gone to several jewelers who advertised that they would customize rings but all had said what she wanted "couldn't be done". Well, I LOVE a challenge!

Truth-be-told, this project wasn't really the challenge Mary had presented to me and she was such a pleasure to work with! We did have to change the model to fit her finger, which is what custom jewelry making is all about.

The Process (Illustrated in Photo Collage Below):  

Typically when making a custom ring I chose the diamonds first, then make the setting - in this case, I first made the setting to ensure that the size stones we wanted would fit. The first CAD image was approved and I had the ring cast in a base metal to send to Mary and test the sizing. While it fit her size four finger, the curve of the stones was more than she wanted - so I adjusted the design to raise the side stones and "flatten out" the top of the ring a bit - not only was this a more comfortable option, but the look of the ring became much more dramatic!

The next step was to select the diamonds to meet her quality and price specifications. Once the diamonds were selected I adjusted the prongs and depth of the setting to accommodate the stones. 

We next cast her ring in two parts - the trellis/gallery was cast in 18K yellow gold and the base of the ring in platinum. 

The pieces were soldered together; the diamonds set and Mary got her new ring delivered a few days later. 

“Amy is fantastic at blending her own expertise and her client's wishes to deliver beyond expectations. She has great listening skills but is not afraid to give advice as well--just what an expert should be.”  From LinkedIn -  qualities: Great Results, Expert, Creative