Bespoke Signet Rings

Computer aided design technology allows us to sculpt a mathematically perfect signet ring in the metaverse. The design exists digitally and can be viewed on a screen of your choice. The beauty of the design relies upon the skill and experience of the artist to manipulate their materials, be they virtual or analogue. A sculptor will take an unappealing lump of clay and form it into a beautiful structure whist ensuring it will survive firing and not topple over! The same passion for design alongside our time-honed experience of gold is how we are able to sculpt beautiful digital models.

Once a set of CAD models have been sculpted we send them to our 3D printer which transfers them into the physical world. You can try these models on, see how they fit/feel and adjustments can be made until you are happy.

After you have signed off your signet ring design the next process is gold casting.

Pure gold is alloyed with silver, copper and other trace metals in very precise amounts to ensure a modern yellow, rose or white gold alloy is produced in a consistent colour (not too warm/cool). (Modern white gold alloys contain palladium which is a relatively new metal used in jewellery manufacture.)

If casting, the alloy must melt and flow at a specific temperature. Casting is a tricky science with many variables to consider including pressure, gravity, and the arrangement of physical geometry.

Our CAD not only prepares the jewellery for viewing but also for casting. Shapes must be considered so that no ‘dams’ prevent the metal flowing during casting. Once you sign off your design we will prepare the model by adding a channel through which liquid gold will flow. This is called a sprue and can be imagined as similar to a tree branch.

The model and its branch will be printed in wax on a specialist 3D printer. (Before this technology existed the design would have been hand-carved in wax, which is still done by some niche jewellers and is a lovely skill to have but it does not allow for rapid design changes and would be very costly to produce a set of different sizes, thickness and widths).

Next the wax is joined by its ‘branch’ to a ‘tree’ at a specific angle and location to help with flow dynamics. It is not uncommon for two identical waxes fo be attached so as to have a backup.

If you wanted to use your own gold you would need enough of that specific alloy (9, 14, 18 etc) to melt down. Seldom we undertake a job like this as it is always problematic. The mixture of alloys from different times in history, solder repairs and other impurities often means that the colour may look undesirable. The melting temperature may also be unpredictable resulting in a casting that may be too soft, too porous or too brittle.

As such the wax would have to go into its own flask on its own tree so as not to contaminate any other castings. You would have to buy the whole flask space (like buying every seat on an aeroplane). You also need extra gold to create the ‘tree trunk’ which is much bigger than the wax itself. It can be done, but the extra work means that it won’t necessarily save much money and it will often take far longer.

We are happy to exchange the scrap price of any suitable gold and provide a credit towards the new jewellery. We will also offer you our services identifying hallmarks and working out the value of vintage gold pieces. If present, gemstones can be removed and incorporated into new designs.

Once the wax tree is assembled it is submerged in a flask and ‘invested’. A highly heat resistant material called investment is poured over the wax tree. Using a vacuum air bubbles are removed. The investment solidifies and the whole thing goes in a kiln where the wax is burnt away leaving a negative image (or mould) in the investment.

The gold alloy is granulated, melted and poured into the cavity. The temperature and cooling rate needs to be carefully controlled to guarantee the gold alloy solidifies nicely. Once the cooling is complete the investment is freed from the flask and is removed from the now solid-gold tree in an acid bath.

The raw gold signet ring is cut from the tree and is now ready for the post-casting process.