Grey sapphire

I mentioned in my last post that I had found a beautiful, ethically sourced grey sapphire. It is actually a blue/grey colour, un-heated so it’s totally natural.

I thought I’d show you a few photos I took whilst making it, in case you’re interested!

I shaped the 18ct gold collet to fit the stone using a tapered punch to make it the correct angle, then created a little bearing inside, a bit like a ‘shelf’ for the stone to sit nice and snug. I used a bearing cutter on a drill to do this.

(Checking the stone fits before I solder it)

I used 1.5mm round wire for the shank. Once shaped I cut a gap to match the width of the collet.

And then soldered it together…

Setting the stone requires the metal to be pushed over to make a little frame to hold the stone in. Then it’s just a case of shaping the band with files and tiding up the setting.

This ring will be available to buy online very soon, once it has returned from the London Assay Office for hallmarking.

I will try and add some more behind the scenes posts in the future, maybe some wax carving and designing process?

Thanks for reading!