Handmade engagement rings

[Honus]

I'm pretty fortunate that I get to do what I do for a living. I'm one of those individuals that needs to work with my hands- I'd go nuts otherwise.

Here's a few more-




And just because I'm a comics geek/movie nut I made these for fun-

[Too Tall]

My wife got a good luck pal. Thanks alot.
Pls. post a link I can share with her.

Your work is so nice so so nice.

[Brandon White]

Wow - those are nice.

[Honus]

My wife got a good luck pal. Thanks alot.
Pls. post a link I can share with her.

Your work is so nice so so nice.

Here's the website for the store where I work- Hurdles Jewelry - Repairs, Appraisals, Tag Heuer, Watch Repair, Engagement Ring, Wedding Band, Breitling, Raymond Weil, Consignment, Gold, Estate, Philip Stein, Scott Kay, Ritani, Beverly K, Custom Jewelry

I'll setup a photo album for all the custom work and post a link.

[dashDustin]

You, sir, nailed it.

Thank you.

[Honus]

Awesome! If there's anything else you need or you have any questions after the big event just let me know. :)

[Matthew Strongin]

Really great work, Honus. I'd imagine it's tough to create a piece for a customer that has the potential to carry such meaning, but you clearly know how to get the job done. I'm impressed. Do you have a favorite type of jewelry to create?

[Honus]

Thanks! I really don't have any one favorite type of jewelry but if I had to choose I really like a lot of art deco jewelry. I've repaired an enormous amount of jewelry over the years and I'd say the level of craftsmanship on a lot of jewelry from that era is overall pretty spectacular- it's obvious that a lot of jewelers back then took an enormous amount of pride in their work.

When I'm working with a client on a design I try to stay as close as possible to what their want/needs are while keeping into consideration design, cost, function, durability, etc. I'll certainly let people know if I think their design idea isn't going to be structurally sound or will have fit issues or will require an enormous amount of maintenance. I'll let people know if I think one type of stone is better for their application than another and generally just try to present options so that people can make an informed decision regarding the work they want done. In the end I view the work as the creation of an heirloom product, so I want people to be happy with the work not just when they receive it but for many years to come.

[Matthew Strongin]

In the end I view the work as the creation of an heirloom product, so I want people to be happy with the work not just when they receive it but for many years to come.

This is what makes your pieces stand out. Between purchasing gifts and some people I know who work in jewelry, I've seen a lot of custom made pieces in person. Much of it gets the job done but doesn't have the refinement as what you can buy from larger companies that have perfected the process for a given item. But when a custom piece is well executed, the stock stuff can't really touch it.

[Honus]

Here's a Platinum ring I just finished for a customer. This job was a bit different as I was modifying the customer's existing ring. Originally the ring did not have the pear shaped stones on the sides and the center head was rotated in a different position. The shoulders that swoop up to touch the ends of the pear shape stones originally were higher up on the sides of the ring- they were joined to prongs on the center head.

First I had to remove the center stone and all of the small side stones and then cut off the shoulders and cut out the center head. I rotated the head 30 degrees and reattached it. Next I made the underwire supports for the pear shape stones and attached them to the center head. Then I made new shoulder sections and attached them to the end of the underwire supports and the ring shank. Then I set the new pear shape stones and all of the original side stones and center stone. I was putting the finishing touches on it just as the customer walked in the door.

Here's some pics- the bottom pics show the happy customer wearing it with the matching side bands I made for her.

[0nelove]

look pretty nice!

[Honus]

Here's a ring I just finished for another board member. Some of the openings are so small in order to do clean up work I had to make my own microscopic cutting tools- I think I made the world's smallest chisel! The holes in the side of the ring were so tiny even a #80 drill was way too big. To give an idea of scale, the small stones on the top of the ring are 1.25mm diameter.

[Honus]

Almost finished with my Christmas work- 17 custom jobs in the last two weeks! Went into work super early this morning to get a head start on today's monster work load. Finished up this nice Platinum cushion cut Diamond ring today.




This is what my bench looked like at the end of the day-

[roguedog]

Wow. some damn fine gorgeous work there.

[Honus]

Thanks for the kind words! Here's the last job I had to finish before Christmas- a two tone 14k/Platinum ring with a European Diamond. Now I'm going to take a nap.

[Honus]

This rose Gold and Diamond key pendant was made for another forum member for Christmas. This was a really fun project with a lot of intricate work. I really appreciate the work you guys have given me and it's been an absolute pleasure working with everyone.

[stnphoto]

These are stunning. Amazing work.

[Filly-fuzz]

beautiful stuff mate! especially the two tone one.

[Honus]

Thanks guys! Here's a Palladium and Diamond ring I just finished. Palladium can be a bit tricky to work with as it's quite a bit softer than Platinum or white Gold so it tends to be a bit harder to do bright cutting work and achieving a clean finish.

[Honus]

Just finished this one- Platinum bypass style ring with a hidden Ruby. The Ruby is visible on the inside of the ring. This was a tough wax pattern to carve due to the complex curves.