E Book

THE LANGUAGE OF
JEWELRY DESIGN
TERMS TO HELP YOU COMMUNICATE
YOUR DREAMS TO YOUR JEWELER
by Calla Gold
THE LANGUAGE OF JEWELRY DESIGN
Copyright 2010 by Calla Gold.
The book author retains sole copyright to her contributions to this book.
All designs are the intellectual property of the designer/author Calla Gold
and Calla Gold Jewelry.
Image on this page: Ladies ring in 18kt yellow gold with a center gem of
Green Tourmaline, surrounded by a skirt of diamonds on a wide tapering
domed band with a satin fnish.
Photos by Calla and Jeremy Gold, and Designkraft.
Photo on cover and wedding set on page 6, Kacie Jean Photography,
kaciejean.com, used by permission.
My thanks to my clients for letting me share images of their designs to educate future
jewelry lovers everywhere. Lets make more designs, I want to do another book!
Calla
My thanks for the editing and technical help from Alex, Jeth, Susan and
Brennan. Family is fantastic.
~ i ~
Why Design? .......................................................................... iii
Prong Settings ........................................................................ 1
Bezel Setting ........................................................................... 2
Channel Settings .................................................................... 3
Inlay Setting and Flush Settings ........................................... 4
Pave (pah vay) Settings ........................................................ 5
Wedding Ring Names ............................................................ 6
Hand and Machine Engraving .............................................. 7
Milgrain and Cast-In Engraving ........................................... 8
More Wedding Ring Chat ..................................................... 9
Stacking Bands ...................................................................... 10
Contoured Ring Set: Carols Story........................................ 11
Wax Carving and Casting...................................................... 12
Modifying Existing Designs: Lori and Miriams Stories ..... 13
Textures, Openings and Oxidation: Ce Ces Story .............. 14
Individualized Designs .......................................................... 15
Making the Most of Your Diamond ..................................... 16
My Knuckles Are Just Too Large ........................................ 17
My Knuckles Are Just Too Large: Emilys Story ................ 18
About Calla Gold ................................................................... 19
TABLE OF CONTENTS
~ ii ~
~ iii ~
Your Wedding Rings will be the symbol of your love. These rings will be the most cherished jewelry you will ever have.
Make sure you love what they say. Use a style that speaks to you, or work a symbol into your design that speaks to your philosophy,
interests or makes sense to you both.
You want your ring to be custom designed. Each ring is special and your taste is important. By learning the language of design, you can
more easily ensure you receive the design of your dreams from your jeweler. By being able to speak in your jewelers language youll get
the special details thatll make your ring a stand out!
Youre extraordinary and your rings should be too!
- Calla Gold
Designer
WHY DESIGN?
A great book! Explains and illustrates
jewelry terms so we all can understand.
- Lori Short
major Jewelry Lover
~ 1 ~
A prong setting, sometimes called a claw setting, holds a gemstone in
place with three or more small, fnger-like extensions that reach from
below to securely hold the gemstone in place.
The prong setting is the most commonly used gemstone setting style,
particularly for the solitaire design. (Solitaire design: Only one gemstone on
a plain thin band.)
Whether the prongs come from a simple band or come up from a
complex design involving other gemstones, its still a prong setting.
If the prong setting is cast up separately from the balance of the ring,
(Cast: Metal heated and poured into a mold or pattern.) the prong setting is
called a head.
Many people, who want a simple design, want the head cast separately
so that they can have a yellow gold ring and have the prong head cast in
white gold. White Gold heads are considered hardier than their yellow
gold counterparts, because of the hardiness of the alloys. (Alloy: Metal or
metals mixed into a softer metal like gold to add frmness.)
Heads can be made for one or more gemstones and can be simple or
more detailed.
THE LANGUAGE OF JEWELRY DESIGN . CALLAGOLDJEWELRY.COM
PRONG SETTINGS
Simple four-prong
setting for the
center diamond
These four center
prongs are cast as
part of the whole
complex design
~ 2 ~
A bezel setting is a setting with the band of metal surrounding and
contoured to the outer edges of the gemstone.
The bezel is a more complex and challenging style of gemstone setting.
This is because the gem setting is more labor intensive and takes a
greater skill level to accomplish. The other reason it is more challenging
for the designer is that the bezel setting design has to be exactly the
correct size for the intended gemstone.
Bezel setting was the earliest method of setting gemstones into jewelry.
Yet it is still considered a modern design option.
Many sleek and powerful designs gain visual strength from the bezel
design element.
Bezels can be slightly popped up above the main ring design or they can
rise up steeply.
There is also a style called semi-bezel in which a part of the gemstone is
exposed. This is often used in very modern designs for a wow effect.
Brides with an active lifestyle often choose this setting style because it is
smooth to the touch and wont catch on clothing.
BEZEL SETTINGS
This sapphire is set
low in a bezel, with
a skirt of diamonds
This emerald is in a
popped-up bezel with
a thick fligree detail
~ 3 ~
In a channel setting design, multiple gemstones are placed in line
between two walls of gold, platinum, etc. The channel design style
allows you to create a ribbon or river of sparkle or color. With the
repetition of touching gemstones you create a unique look.
In the bottom picture, a variation of the channel setting is shown. The
sideways channel design sets the gemstones freely foating inside short
channels, one after another.
Channel settings are also very effective using curving channels to create
a moving kinetic look. This is easiest to do with round cut gemstones.
In the top picture, the center diamond has a higher foating V
channel, rising above the rest of the ring.
This two toned ring design was cast in four pieces. The V setting for
the center diamond was cast in Platinum, as were the two channels.
The balance of the ring was cast in 18kt gold.
Notice the thickness of the side view of this design. This ring was
designed to wear daily with lots of metal to take the blows of everyday
living without bending.
The other cool extra we put into this design was the square shank.
This will help the ring stay upright on the hand.
CHANNEL SETTINGS
This is a classic
and modern
channel setting for
her baguette cut
diamonds
These sideways,
short channels offer
protection and a
smooth, non-catching-
on-clothing feel
~ 4 ~
Inlay setting is used with softer gemstones that are not traditionally
faceted. I use a lot of lapis lazuli, malachite and opal in my inlaid
designs. With inlay setting, the design is made and cast in gold or other
metal, then polished, prepared and given to the lapidary (stone cutter).
The lapis or chosen gem is then cut, polished and set by the lapidary
artisan to ft the design. The setting is done by close ft and jewelers
glue.
Because of the softness of the gems used in inlay, I frequently talk my
brides out of using inlay as their chosen design for a wedding ring.
However, the 18kt gold and opal ring shown is a wedding ring and fve
years later, its doing amazingly well.
Flush setting is used when a seamless look is desired in setting
gemstones into a band. The gemstones are set so the top of the
gemstone is at the same level or very close to it, as the surrounding
gold.
This is usually done with small gemstones because if you try to sink
larger gemstones into gold, the culet, or pokey part at the bottom, sticks
through and scraps your skin. Ouch!
Inlay and fush set are similar to each other in appearance. The big
difference is that in fush setting, the gold conforms to the shape of the
gem, whereas in inlay, the gemstone conforms to the shape of the gold.
Inlaid gems are cut with fat backs for easy setting.
INLAY AND FLUSH SETTINGS
Gorgeous inlaid
Australian opal
This fush set and
fabulous Grandmothers
pendant just fows
~ 5 ~
A Pave setting is based on the French word for paving, pavement or
cobblestones. Its the perfect description for the setting style because
tiny gems, usually diamonds, are laid together, barely touching, much
like paving stones.
The Jeweler works the gold with a tool to create the tiny prongs or they
are cast in. Each Jeweler has their special way of doing pave setting
and from one to another youll often see subtle differences.
The lower ring is an 18kt yellow gold and platinum Tanzanite and
pave-set diamond ring.
In the upper wedding ring, the area for the pave is carved down into
the wax model. When the pave setting is done, after the casting and
polishing of the ring, the colored diamonds are at the same level as the
white gold. The lovely diamonds are now somewhat protected from the
slings and arrows of daily living.
The colored diamonds were chosen for their strength, because my
couple wanted to have their childrens birth months represented in
their rings.
Diamonds sparkle more than any other colored gemstone under the
challenge of everyday wear.
PAVE (PAH VAY) SETTING
Colorful diamonds
symbolize the loved
children in this union
The staggered, two-row
pave-set diamonds set off
this tanzanite gemstone
marvelously
~ 6 ~
The engagement ring. Gals: An engagement ring is given to you
when you say yes. Guys: This is the ring you give her when you
pledge your troth, thats a loyalty and faithfulness pledge. Our great
grandparents were quite romantic with the Old English phrases... or
was that great-great-great-grandparents?
Even though a soldered together circle of tin will get the job done as
an engagement ring, lets not go there - unless she has a great sense of
humor and the real ring is in your other pocket.
The engagement ring usually has a central large diamond as the focal
point and a simple or complex design around it.
The wedding band is either worn with the engagement ring or worn as
an only ring. The lower ring which is an eternity band with a bottom
sizing bar, will be the only wedding ring for the bride in this couple
A wedding band can be the engagement ring and wedding band all
wrapped into one for those who prefer that.
The top wedding set pictured, shows her three diamond engagement
ring with her fve diamond wedding band. And his wedding band.
In both of these designs, I incorporated the inherited diamonds from
their Grandmothers or other family members. This gives added
meaning in the design of your ring.
WEDDING RING NAMES
Her three-diamond engagement ring is
soldered to her fve-diamond wedding band
This wedding band was designed to be a
single band, worn alone
~ 7 ~
A Hand Engraving is done by a highly trained craftsman who pretty
much just does that as his career. It is different from machine engraving
in that it is deeper and is done exactly to suit the space you have and in
a design style you really like.
With machine engraving, preexisting patterns are used to guide the
machine to carve your initials or a special phrase on the inside of your
ring. Using a machine engraver doesnt take the same skill level as free
style hand engraving. Machine engraving looks thinner and shallower
than hand engraving. One thing people dont always realize is that the
hand engraving can look imperfect up close under magnifcation, where
the machine engraving looks perfect.
When an engraving element is to be a major part of the design of your
ring, youll want the custom feel, depth and choices offered from hand
engraving.
HAND AND MACHINE ENGRAVING
The side view of the ring is made
fabulous by hand engraving,
framed by a milgrain border
This ring shows the fne
edge detail of a double
milgrain engraving
(defned on the next page)
~ 8 ~
A Milgrain engraving looks like little beads of metal. It is frequently
put on at the edge of your ring or to frame a design element of your
ring. It adds an estate or old fashioned feel to the design of your ring.
When using hand engraving to add detail and sparkle to your ring
design, youll frequently want to add the milgrain engraving style to
frame it and to provide the fnishing touch.
Cast-in engraving. Sometimes you want the look of hand engraving,
but not the higher cost of hand-engraving. There is such a thing as
cast-in engraving. This is engraving that is done on the wax model of
the piece of jewelry before casting. It is not quite as crisp or sparkly as
hand-engraving done after casting and polishing of your ring, but it is a
defnite option.
When you want a simple design and you want it deeply engraved
into the ring, carving into the wax before casting is the way to go.
Hand engraving cannot go very deep into the cast gold because of the
hardness of gold. By carving the wax itself before casting your design
can be very deep and more visible.
MILGRAIN ENGRAVING
This white gold
wedding band had its
engraving done in the
wax prior to casting
These rings needed
a deep design that
called for engraving
in the wax
~ 9 ~
An Anniversary band style has gemstones set one-third to one-half of
the way around the ring. The eternity band style has gemstones all the
way around the ring.
Rings love to orbit your fnger. The more gemstones you have set on the
band, the less youll fuss with the ring, trying to keep the gems on top.
The one downside with eternity bands is that the gemstones on the
very bottom can pop out now and then due to the stress of having you
lift, golf, clap your hands or other unnoticed things we do. Some of my
brides choose an eternity band with a small sizing bar. It allows us to
size it more easily in the future and if its on the bottom, it protects the
gemstones.
Before you commit yourself to this design style, be aware of the fact
that the side-feel is more rough and thick. Some of my clients have very
sensitive fngers and the gems and settings really bother them.
If you are going to use this style for daily wear make sure that the ring
is sturdy, with plenty of metal. These are beautiful and tempting styles
to wear, but some of them are designed for occasional wear and will
break your heart by spending more time being fxed than by being
worn. Have this style custom-made just for you.
MORE WEDDING RING CHAT
Sapphire and diamond
anniversary band
An all diamond
eternity band
~ 10 ~
Stacking Bands come in many different types. The ruby one in
Platinum is very thin and low to the hand.
When designing these bands using very small gemstones, you can create
a super comfortable ring that you wont even feel because it is low to
the fnger.
When designing with this style for comfort, youll fnd that you can
stack more rings because they are so thin. Many of my clients regularly
wear fve stacked rings like this together and it looks great on them.
I recommend getting them in pairs, so that two of the same color can
fank a central ring. Mixing your gem colors randomly is for the very
brave. Youll always look wonderful in this style if you have pairs in the
same color gemstones.
The lower ring is an eternity band with a small sizing bar that is a great
style for a center band fanked by your stacking rings. Its open work
allows you to see the skin and creates a lightness and feminine look that
is wow inducing.
For the lower pictured ring I took apart a dated ring that wasnt being
worn by my client. It had the small diamonds and the sapphires in it
and we created this airy stacking band.
Sizing an eternity band is very chancy, but can be done. I sized the ruby
ring 2 sizes up.
STACKING BANDS
Stacking ring possibilities are endless
An eternity band with a sizing bar
~ 11 ~
Carol had a really nice ruby in a ring that shed worn years before. Her
tastes had changed and it just wasnt seeing the light of day anymore.
We discussed her taste and the size shed want the ring to be. We
settled on a freeform Etruscan style because shes brave that way.
The Etruscan design style is one of the earliest gem setting designs in
jewelry making history. High outer walls of gold protect the details in
the lower foor of the ring. And high pop-up bezels hold and protect the
gems.
Her diamonds were mixed in shape; pear shaped and round cut and
in size. The previous design didnt really highlight the differences that
noticeably.
This was a fun and challenging design. I decided to set the ruby at an
angle, because the asymmetric design didnt work with the standard up
and down center gem orientation. The gems look like bubbles in a lava
lamp! This looks so cool on her hand.
Next we made up the contoured matching band for the main ring.
The mixed shapes of the diamonds were alternated across the top and
halfway down the sides.
These nice heavy rings were cast up in buttery yellow 18kt yellow gold.
Because 18kt gold is softer than 14kt, with its additional harder metal
alloys, I made each element a bit thicker, so itll wear really reliably.
I loved doing this!
CONTOURED RING SET: CAROLS STORY
Carols ring before
any change
Carols ruby and some
of the diamonds in her
after ring
Carols contoured
Etruscan style band
with the remaining
diamonds.
Her second ring fts
snugly with her frst
and worn together its a
show stopper!
~ 12 ~
A wax model is the actual size and shape of your custom design. After
the drawing of your design, your Jeweler starts the project with a wax
model.
Your wax model for your custom-designed ring will either be hand
carved or designed on a computer and made by a computer aided wax-
making machine.
A drawing made of your design is not a guarantee that your Jeweler
understood what you really want in the details of your ring.
If your ring design is at all complex, I recommend seeing the wax and
approving of it before your Jeweler takes the next step.
When jewelry designs are cast, gold is melted and poured into a hollow
mold. The metal flls the space of your design and is allowed to cool
slowly. The piece is then polished and it goes through various steps
until its beautifully complete.
In order for you to have a wonderful experience in the making of
your custom design, know that details like; how thick the gold is, how
rounded or angularly straight are the edges, are the settings part of the
design or soldered on top with solder after casting, and how high will
your diamonds be set? Youll get the answer to how your ring will look
partly from seeing the wax.
So see your wax frst!
WAX CARVING AND CASTING
This wax was made
from my design and
created on a computer
Notice how closely the
wax detail shows up in
the fnished ring
~ 13 ~
Lori was having me restring her pearl necklace. She wanted me to
remove a bullet-shaped pearl at its center.
It didnt look right with all the other pearls. We could see why someone
put it there. Other than its odd shape, that didnt work as a necklace, it
was a gorgeous and lustrous pearl.
In my display of rings was an Etruscan design that Lori liked. She
asked if I could make something like it for her pearl.
The result, with a high pop-up bezel to set her tall pearl was most
pleasing. Lori had the two white diamonds lying around and we
incorporated them into the ring as well.
Lori saw something that she liked and that really helped me as a
Jeweler to know what to make to please her.
A new wax was carved, but since it was based on an existing design,
Lori didnt need to see the wax. She trusted me to set the pearl and
diamonds well in the chosen style.
Miriam fell in love with a gorgeous emerald. She picked a design of
mine to set it. She said, I want that design for my emerald, and instead
of diamonds, I want Sapphires.
Using the same design, just with a very large bezel setting that popped
out beyond the edges of the basic tapered band, we made this fabulous
ring for Miriam.
MODIFYING EXISTING DESIGNS:
LORI AND MIRIAMS STORIES
Etruscan inspired design
Classic Etruscan
design with an
emerald
~ 14 ~
How many textures are there? Hmmm, too many to count. A few
of them I used here are; hammered, stippled and high polish. Ce Ce
wanted a certain length down her hand for a wide, yummy design.
Ce Ce also wanted her ring to be a treasure of interesting nooks,
crannies and spaces. She showed me a number of examples of what
she liked.
Ce Ce had a vision of autumnal colors. She loves vibrant colors. She is
a very cheerful person, who makes other people smile. Me included.
She was a teacher for many years. So when she said to show her
gemstones before we started the design process, I did my homework.
Ce Ce chose a bright fall palette of orange and pink sapphires, rubies
and yellow and cognac color diamonds.
So I drew her design based on her chosen gemstones. We incorporated
a heart look at the center.
In the lower recesses between each design element, I used oxidation
to darken and create sharp borders. There are different methods of
oxidizing and each one is a trade secret of the Jewelers. We basically
use a chemical to oxidize, darken, the gold.
The bottom left photograph shows an opening that was carved into the
wax. Believe it or not that can be diffcult to cast, because it is so thin.
Ce Ces ring just rocks on her hand!
TEXTURES, OPENINGS AND
OXIDATION: CE CES STORY
~ 15 ~
Sometimes you have a photo of favorite scene, pet or person and youd
like to have a piece of jewelry made from it, you can have that done.
There are different qualities of wax carvers available in the jewelry
making world. For the horse ring, I engaged a wax sculptor.
She spent more time on making that wax than a normal wax carver
would. When you have a design youd like to have done, or a remaking
of an existing piece of jewelry, if one Jeweler says, that cant be done,
ever, zip, fuggetaboudit, etc. Just know that there may be another
Jeweler who can do it.
In the lower image, I wanted to share a wonderful custom design; my
clients wifes name made up into this swirling and beautiful ring.
INDIVIDUALIZED DESIGNS
Heres a fantastic
name ring
The wax made
for this horse ring
was handmade
~ 16 ~
Its a great idea to try on different thicknesses of rings to see what width
of ring looks good on your hand.
Sometimes the size of your diamond doesnt give you the width you
look best in for your ring. Use design elements to widen your ring.
The pictured designs here show how a skirt
of diamonds adds width and interest to your ring.
Making your central element wider and tapering to a narrower band
makes your diamond look larger.
The ring with the blue diamond shows how great a colored diamond
looks in a wedding ring design.
Colored diamonds are always a great choice in wedding rings.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR DIAMOND
A surrounding skirt of
diamonds and two toned
metal make this ring wider
and more interesting
A fabulous blue
diamond ring
~ 17 ~
There have been plenty of times when the largeness of the brides
knuckles threatened to torpedo her plans to have her chosen design made.
Ive run into married women wearing simple gold bands only. These
women really wanted a real wedding set, but thought it wasnt
possible. The ring they really wanted would just spin uncomfortably
around their fnger. Or they had a wedding set, but didnt wear it. It
sat at the bottom of their jewelry box, neglected and alone.The cause of
this problem is in the size difference between your knuckle and the area
behind the knuckle. If there is more than a two size difference, your
rings will spin.
There are a number of solutions to the twisting around and rolling
ring problem. Hinging shanks (fg. 1) allow the ring to open all the
way, making it possible to go over the knuckle and close snugly on the
skinny part of the fnger.
The more top-heavy a ring is, the more it tends to spin. Rockers (fg. 2)
help keep the ring upright when the bumps anchor into the muscle fesh
of your fnger.
Theres also a spring that can be custom made and put inside the ring
shank that works nicely. I call it a Butterfy Spring Clasp (fg. 3)
because it spreads open to go over your knuckle and then springs
inward to help hold the ring upright.
Sometimes your knuckle swells or grows when youre not looking, or
your ring bends out of shape and gets stuck. Many jewelers keep a ring
saw on hand to help their clients who get caught in their rings. Theyll
saw it off gently for you and fx it back up (fg. 4).
MY KNUCKLES ARE JUST TOO LARGE
(fg.4) What your ring can
look like when its been
sawed off
(fg.1) There are three
main hinging shank
solutions for rings that
spin, here is one of them
(fg.2) Rockers help
anchor your ring and
stop it from spinning
(fg.3) The butterfy
spring clasp holds up the
blue topaz ring nicely
~ 18 ~
Emily had dreamed of having a wonderful and feminine diamond
wedding ring.
Shes an avid horse-woman, rancher and lover of the outdoors. Putting
on the smaller diamond details so theyd stay put was a challenge.
What I hadnt anticipated was that the ring would be top heavy enough
that it would spin unacceptably.
We sized it very tightly, but that was scraping her skin and still
spinning. To solve the problem, we put on rockers. However, that
proved uncomfortable when Emily was lifting things.
The butterfy spring clasp seemed impractical because of the dogs, cats
and chickens.
I custom made this smooth horseshoe-ish shaped piece of white gold
that goes forward and anchors comfortably into the muscle fesh of her
fnger. Now her dream ring stays put and looks great. We were both
pleased with the solution.
The moral of the story is to choose a jeweler wholl work with you and
deal with any challenges that come up successfully.
Emilys custom horseshoe addition,
perfect for a horsewoman
MY KNUCKLES ARE JUST TOO LARGE:
EMILYS STORY
Calla Gold, owner/designer of Calla Gold
Jewelry, has been a Jeweler Without Walls
since 1983, in Santa Barbara. A Jeweler
Without Walls visits her clients outside the
typical bricks and mortar store setting.
Her wedding ring designs grace many happily
married hands.
Calla has been happily married to Jeremy
Gold, since 1979 and has a cool son.
Personalized Jewelry Design Services at Your Home or Offce - 805.963.4157
VISIT HER WEBSITE CALLAGOLDJEWELRY.COM OR
BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK, UNDER CALLA GOLD JEWELRY.
~ 19 ~

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