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Hello to Orchid,
I am Thom Lane, a lapidary who enjoys the Orchid dialogue and
adds an occaisonal two bits worth. I am responding to the
discussion of stone inlays in rings. I do this regularly and it
is not too difficult as long as the sides of the opening go
straight down from the top of the stone. This is different than
having them go straight in to the center of the ring! The
opening should have all its sides parallel to each other. If
the stone goes way around the ring then the ends can go toward
the center of the ring. The stone has a rounded cutout that goes
over the finger and then the ends are cut on a faceting machine
until they fill the opening. After gluing with HXTAL (normal
epoxy lasts ten years and is bogus for jewelry) I grind the
excess stone flush with the metal.
More challenging is the stone ring with a metal liner. Stone
arches are strong when challenged with downward pressure but a
stone ring can easily be broken with pressure forcing from the
center outward. I think the only reliable way to make a ring
like this would be to HXTAL the stone ring over a band with one
side in place, leaving enough of the center sleeve sticking out
to slide the other side, in the form of a washer, alongside the
stone. I know there are ways to do this flaring the center
sleeve into the washer but my goldsmith returned many experiments
with the stone invariably broken!
I have made a few successful rings of this sort but they never
lasted in normal use and most people who have made them give up
because of the breakage. The other problem is that a ring of
this sort can never be sized.
Best to you all,
Thom
Thom
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