One of the most popular silver jewelry items made are silver rings. Types range from a basic wedding ring to complicated styles with multiple gemstones. A lot of individuals who wear silver rings wear one on every finger; and quite a few of these individuals wear different rings on a daily basis to accent whatever they’ve chosen to put on that day. Because silver is so much more reasonably priced than gold or platinum, a nice variety of sterling rings is still an attainable goal for many jewelry lovers.
There are quite a few ways to create silver rings; artisans have many contemporary techniques they can use that make just about anything you can imagine a reality. There are jewelers who prefer to begin by carving a wax model and casting the ring; others may make rings with .999 silver metal clay; and last but not least there is the traditional way - fabrication. This is my favorite method of making silver rings! Silver rings are made the same way worldwide - by artisans in every country.
Metal suppliers generally sell a variety of wire in various shapes and patterns that help the jeweler to make band type rings without difficulty. Silver is readily available as round, half round, rectangular, triangle and square shaped stock. Most individuals picture wire that is thin and light, but heavy silver wire is made in very substantial gauges. These wide silver wires are perfect for use to make a wedding band design ring, or for a shank on a ring that holds jewels. The same metal suppliers also usually offer milled stock; these are heavyweight wires that were run through a “rolling mill”, a bench tool that can press patterns into metal. These patterned wires are normally supplied in 12″ long pieces and are available in many sizes; some are so wide they are generally used to fabricate cuff bracelets and bangles.
Creating a wedding ring with this type of wire is quite easy; by employing a rawhide mallet that won’t mar the soft metal to make the ring on a steel ring mandrel, any size can be produced accurately. Once the basic shape has been mademade, the rough ring is removed from the stock with a jeweler’s saw and the edges are smoothed with a file so they are flush. The ends must meet exactly to produce a really good join, so strict attention to detail counts; I like to hold the seam up to a bright light to check for a close fit. When no light passes through the seam, the ring is ready to be soldered. Since only one soldering step is required, fusing the ends with hard silver solder is the correct way; hard solder contains a higher percentage of silver in it than medium or easy solder. Hard silver solder flows just below the melting temperature of sterling silver, so close attention is called for or the band can end up as a puddle of melted silver. Once the open seam is soldered closed, the ring can be placed back on the mandrel and tapped with the rawhide mallet to produce a truly round shape. After this step, the ring can be polished in the normal way.
Another kind of wire artisans use to make rings is bezel wire. This is available in coiled strips; most suppliers carry a couple of different widths. Some may offer different types; smooth edge, serrated edge and scalloped edge bezel wire are the types seen most often. I prefer to use .999 silver bezel wire, but bezel wire also comes in sterling silver. I like fine silver for this because I think it is somewhat softer, and is easier to form around the edge of a stone to get a securely set jewel. I have several bezel mandrels in various shapes; they can help make it easy to make bezels, but I learned by hand wrapping the bezel wire around the gem I’m setting and I like to form my bezels to fit each stone individually. Once the wire has been wrapped around the stone, it can be marked with a Sharpie marking pen and trimmed to the correct length.
After the bezel has been made, it should be soldered with hard solder, in the same way as the shank described earlier. At this point it is normally soldered to a small piece of silver sheet to produced a “bezel cup” – that has walls and a bottom, with an opening at the top the gem will be set into. The bottom or “floor” of the cup should be joined with medium solder; this type of solder melts at a somewhat lower temperature than the hard solder, so it makes multiple solders easier – the jeweler is less likely to heat the bezel to the temperature where the hard solder in the bezel seam melts.
When the bezel cup is done it can be fused to the ring shank with “easy” silver solder, which flows at a cooler temperature than the melting point of medium solder. These basic steps can be followed to create silver rings that hold cabochon cut gems, which have flat backs.
A faceted gemstone needs a “seat” or a shelf the edge of the gemstone rests on, with space below. This can be done by using wire inside the bezel setting, or the smith may opt to use “step bezel” wire. Viewed from the end edge, this specially made wire looks like it is formed in a step shape; hence the name. Step bezel wire is supplied in strips, like the patterned wire mentioned earlier. The lower area is thick; the upper part is much thinner, suitable for forming a bezel around the edge of the stone. Once the thin portion of the step bezel wire is formed around the jewel to size, trimmed and soldered as outlined above, the stone rests on the seat, which is formed by the step when the setting strip is curved around the jewel. This type of bezel setting may not have a back fused to it; the culet on the back of the faceted jewel may be seen through the back of the bezel setting if it is left open. Open step bezel settings are almost always attached to open shanks; the bezel setting is pressure fit between the open ends of the shank and soldered in place. A simple step bezel set faceted gem ring needs just two soldering steps; one to fuse the bezel setting, and one to attach the bezel setting to an open shank.
Another method is to use silver sheet. An elongated H shape is cut from the sheet; the cross piece of the H becomes the ring shank. This method requires some planning; the size of the cross piece determines the size of the ring. The 2 upright parts of the H become the cradle that holds the setting; once the correct lengths are worked out, the H figure is sketched on the sheet and a jeweler’s saw is used to remove the H shape. The cross piece is formed around a steel ring mandrel; and the vertical parts of the H are bent upward and curved around a bezel mandrel to make the cradle for the bezel. A bezel cup can be used to fit in the cradle to attain the correct size. The end edges of the cradle must be filed straight so there are no gaps and they meet perfectly; at that point, they’re fused with hard solder. Then the bezel cup should be pressure fit into the opening; if done carefully it should be a snug fit. Once the bezel setting is fused into the ring body, the two piece ring can be polished and set!
The silver rings detailed in this article are simple designs. If you make silver rings, you might want to use these methods the way a painter approaches a blank canvas; by adding design elements like wire spirals, cast leaves, use more than one bezel setting … the possibilities are almost limitless. Making sterling silver rings is fulfilling, and it truly is a fabulous way to flesh out your jewelry making abilities if you’re just learning how to fabricate sterling silver jewelry!
Robert Edwards is a jewelry maker and goldsmith in NYC with more than 30 years experience in the jewelry trade. He is the webmaster of a popular retail website specializing in handcrafted jewelry and silver chains. This article may be copied and published on blogs and websites as content as long as the entire article, all links and this writer’s statement are included. Copyright 2010 Bob Edwards.