In a 3-hour jewelry making workshop with me, Laura learned how to make a convex ring in sterling silver with a tiger’s eye cabochon stone setting. This was only her second ring ever made, so her skill level was minimal, but the ring came out great!
The ring fabrication begins with 1mm sterling silver sheet, cut according to the desired ring size and width, plus extra length to account for the convex curvature. Making a ring convex (domed) has the look of being a more hefty statement ring, making it the perfect unisex ring design. Doming the metal also gives it more structure, as an archway would for a doorframe, allowing thinner metal to be used.
The next step is to sand the inside surface and the side edges of the ring. To curve the ring into a convex shape, it must be annealed and cleaned again before being hammered into the steel dapping block. This step also makes the circumference smaller to match the ring size. Then, the exterior of the ring is sanded smooth finishing with 1000 grit sandpaper.
The bezel is made with fine silver bezel “wire,” fit around the stone and soldered carefully onto the ring. The base of the bezel must be sanded to fit the curve of the ring and the height of the bezel needs to be appropriate for the curved cut of the stone, just enough to hug the stone in place.
The ring can then be polished in a magnetic tumbler. The surface of this ring was left unpolished for a frosted effect. Lastly, the stone is set with a burnishing tool. This is the final product, finished in just around 3 hours:
Sterling silver convex ring with tiger’s eye bezel stone setting
For more examples of what can be made in a 3-hour jewelry workshop, see this link:
3-hour Jewelry Workshops in Florence, Italy
For longer courses, see: Jewelry Courses in Florence, Italy
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