More and more women and men are uncomfortable with heavy earrings. These finished hoops weigh a meer 4-6 grams per earring because they are made out of aluminum. Interestingly our customer originally came in because her husband wanted to gift her classic diamond hoops. She was not interested in that at all. And to her credit she brought in jewelry she owned and liked to wear in the hopes of getting hoops that went with an existing bracelet which had a double row of diamonds. In the end we opted for a single row of diamonds because the cost of setting 390, .9mm stones took the fun out of the original idea of the gift! Besides the knife edge profile turned out more elegant in the end.
original 3D printed hoop idea painted black and white, to match an existing bracelet
To start a design, we like to make models and mockups of the item we will make. It saves ruining materials and wasting time because we know it will work after the tests are run. We 3D printed two plastic hoops from the CAD designs so the customer could see if she liked the scale and style. Thereafter, gregore started to turn aluminum on the lathe to get a feel for the labor involved. Also, we had limitations we had to meet. We wanted a black annodized hoop and the aluminum we used was an alloy that could be cut but not cast. Cast aluminum is a different alloy that comes out gray when annodized.
Samples of the hoop-far right is a plastic 3D model with white paint “diamonds”, center is an aluminum section practicing the precutting to set the diamonds, far left the aluminum profile.
We also did some precutting to see how well we could control the material without slipping and damaging the surface. Here again the material had serious limitations. If we tried to repair a slip with the laser welder the repair would show because we could not weld with the same material and have it hold. In other words we could not slip that badly, burnishing slight scratches was the best repair we could get away with and still have a beautiful black annodized surface.
the turned aluminum hoops are drilled and cut to seat the .9mm diamonds
the hoops are glued onto a wider aluminum donut for support during this phase
After we were sure we were heading in the direction that would make the customer happy, gregore cut the two hoops out of aluminum on the lathe. He turned a couple donut inserts wider than the hoops so that the hoops could be glued on securely and held in the setting vice without damaging them. The drilling and cutting happened with round burs, setting burs, and half round gravers, for 170, .9mm round brilliant cut diamonds total. I completed the setting which was rewarding to do. It is because the diamonds are so small that the effect is so special, a single delicate bright, flashing line running down the middle of the hoop.
close up detail of the pre-cutting
The close up of the hoop shows the amount of detail in a very small area. This type of work has to have the use of a microscope to get everything accurate. Also using precise power tools helps you run the burs true, and to cut with a minimum of pressure so that you don’t slip because you are using too much hand and arm force.
The completed hoops in anodized aluminum set with round brilliant cut diamonds and 18k yellow gold post and caps, approximately 2 inches with 170, .9mm diamonds total
Because diamonds are very tough and nearly impermeable, we bead blasted the hoops after they were set to get a nice even texture. We followed with annodizing and finally screwing on the gold end caps. More and more we use hand made screws to secure alternative materials which generally cannot be soldered together. The hoops turned out delightful to wear. They are light, elegant, and with an exciting flash of diamonds.
front view of the aluminum and diamond hoops
Jewelry that is made with alternative materials, and any jewelry for that matter, needs to be stored so the surfaces do not get marred. Finding custom packaging and especially pouches we like is difficult. That is why gregore head of R&D came up with our custom pouches which we made in house. Boxes are nice but the pouch is very versatile. It holds the item closely so it can’t move about and get abraded, plus it is a very convenient travel size. Our material of choice is felted wool which ages beautifully, lasts, and feels very nice.
As we get better known customer’s are realizing how versatile and original our work and designs can be. We get asked to make items with alternative materials like aluminum or wood because we can go larger and make a noticeable fashion statement while still having comfortable jewelry to wear. Feel free to email or call us with any questions about or interest in our work. Thanks for reading!
cheers, g&j