This video shows the making of a 2.15-carat, 3-stone platinum engagement ring by hand. The ring was forged from Pt900 platinum (90% platinum / 10& iridium alloy) and was adorned with a 1.51 Ct VS1 oval shaped main diamond and two 0.32 Ct side diamonds.
At the start of the video, we see platinum burning bright as it is melted from scraps to form one solid piece. This piece is then hand forged to make a square shaped bar.
The platinum bar is then continuously passed through a rolling mill and draw plate to make wires of the proper gauge for the ring shank, as well as the other parts of the ring. These include the three bezels, the prongs, and the underneath gallery (the section underneath the bezels).
The video then shows how the three bezels where the diamonds will sit are molded out of wire. They are soldered together with 1700 platinum solder before they are bent and positioned at the necessary angles to house the diamonds. Extreme care must be taken to shape and size these bezels appropriately because they will house the most expensive part of the ring, the diamonds. When they’re filed down and the ring is finished, the three stones need to sit safely in each of their respective positions.
A ring mandrel is then use to hammer and shape the shank. The platinum is annealed (softened) several times throughout this process.
A platinum plate is then cut into the right size, rounded, and soldered to the actual bezel. This plate, which will later be shaped and embellished with two cut out hearts and oval (these holes are know as the “azure” of the ring), is positioned under the bezels and is called the “underneath gallery.”
The top ends of the shank are then cut and filed down to house the three bezels, which are subsequently soldered to the shank. The bezels are used as a guide to be able to cut the underneath gallery into a shape that matches the contour of the bezels.
In order to cut the two hearts below the side stones and the oval below the main stone into the underneath gallery, the bezels need to be temporarily removed. These heart shapes are cut by hand with extreme caution using a thin saw blade at an angle. A mistake at this point would result in many hours of wasted work!
After the bezels are re-soldered on the ring, it is time to make the prongs (4 for each stone) with the rounded wire.
Each prong needs to be filed/polished one by one before it is soldered to the ring, starting with the ones for the side stones and ending with the prongs for the center diamond.
After the prongs are soldered, the ends are rounded and the entire ring is polished one more time.
The diamonds are then set on their respective bezels (starting with the side stones) and held in place by manually bending the prongs in with pliers and filing the tips.
Once all the stones are set, the ring is polished one last time and delivered to the lucky bride!