Miranda Falkner - Designing and Making Rings and Bangles

Designing and Making
Rings and Bangles

Designing and Making
Rings and Bangles

Miranda Falkner
and Evangelos Pourgouris

CROWOOD

First published in 2017 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2017

Miranda Falkner and Evangelos Pourgouris 2017

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 319 6

Disclaimer

Safety is of the utmost importance in every aspect of jewellery and silversmithing. When using tools, always follow closely the manufacturers recommended procedures. However, the authors and publisher cannot accept responsibility for any accident or injury caused by following the advice given in this book.

Frontispiece: 18ct yellow- and white-gold rings set with green and pink tourmalines; by Evangelos and Miranda.

Contents

Introduction

T he field of contemporary jewellery making is fast changing along with the technological advances of our era. Computers, 3D design and prototyping, the use of lasers or fancy composite materials, are just some examples of new equipment, techniques and materials that are being adapted and introduced in the manufacture of a modern jewel. It is inevitable that during this process the pool of traditional skills is at risk of shrinking as the conveniences of modern equipment take over from the human hand, especially in the mass production sector of jewellery. But at the same time, and as proven many times in our industrial history, this race to mechanization and uniformity is creating an opening for individually crafted artisan jewellery.

18ct white- and yellow-gold ring set with a rough ruby; by Evangelos and Miranda.

Technology for some can be threatening, while to others it is seen as a liberating factor in expanding our freedom to create, and broadening the boundaries of creativity, allowing more opportunities to pioneer new and exciting work. For one thing is still true: the need for the human element to innovate remains as strong as ever. Contemporary jewellery is about expressiveness, and the embodiment of ideas and concepts in a wonderful and tactile medium.

Whatever the standpoint, we believe that traditional skills should form the creative backbone to anyones artistic endeavours. We have been fortunate enough to receive good practical training during our college years, and that has given us a solid foundation on which to build our practising skills and to develop our ideas and creativity. We have come to refine those skills through the diversity of the projects and commissions that we have undertaken over the years, and now wish to share some of them through this book in the hope that these abilities will continue for years to come.

Without a doubt, rings have always been a big and popular part of our jewellery production, and comprise one of the strongest lines in our current business, so it was natural to concentrate the focus of this book on the making of rings along with bangles. In theory the two are no different: they are processed in a similar manner using the same techniques, and technically the only thing that distinguishes them is their size, in terms of scale and in the choice of materials considered best suited for the wearers comfort. But the techniques explained here can also be used in any other jewellery application.

In this book we aim to show how a recollected image or a memento can be turned into a design idea or concept by interpretation and development; we then explain the conventional and unconventional techniques that would be required to make a ring or bangle take shape in the way we want, by means of simple forming and soldering, or the non-solder method, or by more elaborate ways of fabricating and decorating the work.

Whether the project is to make a ring or a bangle, do not let yourself be intimidated by the practical skills required: you will find that they are not as scary as they appear to be.

The technical chapters are divided into basic and more advanced stages, so start at the level you are most comfortable with and develop your skills from there. There is also a chapter showing you how to set gemstones in rings or bangles, ranging from easy methods to more elaborate techniques, which can be useful for those who wish to embellish their work and give it a more luxurious feel. In the finishing chapter, there are some suggestions of the possible textures you could create and use on a ring or bangle in the last stages of the production, and the techniques used in enhancing the overall design and quality of its presentation.

Besides our own work, we have included examples of other makers work from around the world, not only to demonstrate the diversity of ring and bangle designs today, but also to exemplify the materials and techniques explained in this book as used by other practitioners, and applied from a different perspective and in a new dimension.

Whether you are a hobbyist or someone who has already acquired the fundamental skills of making, this book is only meant as a guide to suggest what could be technically possible; its intention is to provide some measured practical steps and cautionary advice. And we hope that the illustrations in the step-by-step guides will inspire you to produce something unusual, or to invent a new technique, or come up with a truly original idea. We also hope that this book will serve as a catalyst to a greater journey so you might become a designer in your own right, and that you do not necessarily need to follow our ways of designing and processing, but learn to develop you own ideas further, and create something special and unique that is truly yours.

Cellular Double Act: a unique pair of veined agates was used to create this masterpiece in silver and 18ct yellow gold, by Evangelos and Miranda.

So go out and set free your imagination and creativeness, learn the basic and advanced techniques that are needed to fashion the creative piece, and soon you will see the rewarding result: the finished object that expresses your unspoken, inner thought. Always research what inspires and interests you in the development of your own concepts and ideas; also practise using different tools as much as possible so you become familiar with them, and understand their uses and effects on different kinds of material, be it organic or synthetic. This will help your knowledge and understanding in the learning curve of each process, so that you and your work may take a stand of originality in your progress towards the professional field.