3D Printing Jewellery
I decided I had met the one.....but the engagement rings on offer in Nairobi, Kenya where I lived weren't what I wanted. A true stealth mode project. After prototyping in plastic, I used a print shop to print the design in wax and make a mould around the wax. Molten gold was poured into the mould, which melted and displaced the wax. The gold ring was removed and buffed before a professional jeweller set an Alexandrite stone in the three prongs. Most importantly, she said yes.
Skills Used
CAD design
Sculpting in CAD
Materials research
3D printing
Gem setting
Prototyping
Sketching
The big one! Designing my girlfriend's engagement ring.... I searched for inspiration from jewellery makers and my imagination.
Water - something my wife loves, but how to depict water, a liquid in a solid? The wave is powerful and ever changing and clearly fluid. Hokusai's classic inspired me.
I drew and worked to find a way for the wave and stone to exist in the same design. The answer was for the wave to roll around the stone.
CAD models I created for 3D printing. This allowed me to work on my CAD sculpting of organic shapes instead of conventional engineering CAD. Can you see the waves crashing over?
The first plastic model. Printed in Holland and sent to the UK. Real life helped show that the band needed to be thickened.
The gold ring! Polished and perfect.
The stone sits on the prongs ready to be seated by the jeweller. The waves have a dynamic feel.
She said yes!!!!!
Circular from above and asymmetrical from the side.
We hand made our wedding bands and here they are.
