Creating custom engagement rings for David Gross is a pleasure and a huge challenge. For one he prefers platinum which is difficult to polish because it is a tough and strong metal. Secondly his stones are beautiful so a bit scary to set. The polish on his stones is superior and his knack for color reveals an exquisite array of gems.

Tanzanite is softer than his usual sapphires. I wish I had kept a photograph of the casting in pieces, because this is where we have the advantage to getting a superior finish. In other words finish the parts before soldering them together. David is fastidious about the finish of his rings. He has an eye not just for color but also detail. Should you want a sapphire we could get one for you from David, and make a memorable heirloom for you.

Gregore is the CAD guy in the Gregore and Jennifer-Rabe team, though I am making an effort to master the tool. Now using tools well is the skill of the fine jeweler and CAD has become an essential one to create symmetry in designs. The artistry comes into play when your CAD guy can manipulate the design to look just a bit different than the next guys.

We have perfected this particular design, in particular the diamond setting up the prongs. The diamonds are very small and challenging to deal with.

This sapphire is longer than the one above it and a particularly bright blue. These images are not renders, they are the real deal, a photograph of the finished piece masterfully refined by a photoshop expert.

Here is an example of parts of a design being made and cast separately. For this ring in particular we needed to be able to pre-cut the pave’ because you can’t reach that area when the head and shank are together. We also had to set the diamonds after soldering, another challenge because of the tight corners. Diamonds can’t survive the heat required for platinum soldering.

I really like this ring, because it is studded with diamond pave’

We kept this casting as a single unit because with files, wheels and our sanding strips , which we offer for sale and a handy video on its uses, we were confident about getting an excellent finish on the metal and reaching all the setting. It is a challenge to get a pear shaped stone looking nice in a ring. This one came out really nice.

Part 2 of 2 of this blog will continue next issue. Thanks for watching!