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RING STYLES
Band Style Rings: Other Types of Bands Continued
This ring consisting of 8 pentagrams 8 mm in diameter each set with a 2 mm faceted amthyst would run $1250 and up. This is 14kt yellow gold.
Here's another wider band style ring, with a unicursal hexagram and a lab grown star ruby bezel set in the center. Rings like this run $250 - a little less with a less expensive stone.
This Chaosphere ring runs $200 in sterling silver. Most stones can be added for $15 each. The chaosphere in this ring is the size of a Small Chaosphere, 20 mm in diameter or a little over 3/4 of an inch.
Even a simple band style ring can become quite complex. Here the chaosphere (25 mm diameter) has a 14 kt hexagram flush soldered to the domed center of the symbol. A ring similar to this would cost $275 but it does depend on the complexity of the central symbol.
This is a double dorje ring on a double half band ring with a garnet in the center, the dorje high shine, the background textured and oxidized. Rings like this run $225 and up.
Although not specifically committment rings these two variations on a three stone ring were designed to meet the customers' request that the stones be open in the back to the fingers. This ring is argentium sterling silver with a 14kt yellow gold wire accent and features a lapis and two turquoise cabs.
Rings similar to this cost $275 and up.
Here you see the way the ring was cut in the back to allow access to the stones. Although this is sometimes done with bezel set faceted stones to facilitate cleaning of the back facets it is primarily done on cabachons to allow the skin to interact directly with the energies of the stones.
This ring, the companion to the one above, features red coral, lapis, and a 14kt red gold wire accent.
John Dee, Elizabeth I's astrologer and court magician, designed this ring. I executed it as a size 10 heavy gold ring in 14kt yellow gold. The table of the ring, pictured here, is 1 inch square. This is a ceremonial ring, specially made for a customer involved in Dee's magick.
Here you can see the heavy gold band and the way in which Dee believed the ring should be fabricated. Elizabethan jewelry did not develop the signet style which would be the way that a modern ring would fulfill Dee's design requirements.
This ring cost $1750 and weighed close to an ounce.
Hand made pentagram rings like this one work very well as an easy to wear and relatively inexpensive ring. This ring , a size 9 with a pentagram approximately 19 mm (or a bit over 3/4 of an inch) in diameter was priced at $400. plus the cost of the emerald.
Split band rings are actually cut from a single sheet of argentium sterling silver or karat gold. In this case the circle around the spiky chaosphere is texture finished, the chaosphere is flush soldered to the circle and both the band and the chaosphere are polished to a high shine. These rings run $250 in sterling silver.
Here's a Triskalion Ring made in the same way as the spiky chaosphere ring above. Over time the textured silver oxidizes and the contrast between the background and the symbol increases. Again the cost for this type of ring is $250 in argentium sterling silver.
Another type of split band ring, similar to the pentagram with emerald ring at the top of the page, is this open work split band ring. This style is not appropriate for all symbols or sizes, but generally, it is quite well adapted to symbols within circles. This ring has a cornflower blue cabochon sapphire set in the center, a stone quite difficult to find. This style ring costs $250 and up, depending on stone and metal used.
This 14kt yellow gold split band ring featuring a unicursal hexagram with a 14kt rose gold central flower uses married metal techniques to back the unicursal with an argentium sterling disk. Rings similar to this cost $500 and up, depending on ring size.
Round symbols like the yin yang (Tai Chi) work very well as both split band rings and signet rings.
Here's anoter view of the Yin Yang ring. Rings similar to this in argentium sterling silver run $250 and up.
This is my eldest daughter's wedding ring. The ring is 14kt yellow gold and 14kt white gold, alloyed with palladium to ensure a white color. the 14kt white gold palladium alloy is more expensive than the standard 14kt white but much more beautiful and never needs plating.
The ring has a high quality 1 1/2 carat emerald with 2 10 point diamonds, (SI1, H, round brilliant cuts). The settings are a 6 prong 14 kt yellow gold low base setting and 2 4 prong low bas white gold settings for the diamonds.
My daughter says that the ring is so striking that she has to keep her hand out of sight if she's talking to someone since they will spend their whole time staring at the ring! I made simple hammered palladium white gold bands to go with the ring. This ring is valued at $850 without the stones, $5000 with them.
Years before I made the above ring I made my daughter another ring. She was 15 at the time and Pam let her look at it for a day or two then hid it until she was 18, certain that she would either lose the ring or that it would be stolen. Perhaps she's right.
The emerald here is not as high a quality as the one on my daughter's engagement ring so this ring would probably run $ 2500 with the stone and $600 for the basic ring.
This is another astonishing ring, 18 kt yellow gold Tibetan Flames forming a platform on which was set a AAA grade marquise cut sapphire with two 10 point diamonds pave set on either side.
Here's another view of the ring. As you can see palladium white gold really does look white. Because palladium white gold is not plated it will retain its color. I generally prefer silver but this is partly because palladium is a difficult and generally unforgiving metal with which to work. However on a ring with diamonds and sapphires silver is not considered appropriate. Go ahead - be inappropriate if you like!
Rings like this run from $800 to $2500 depending on the stone.
