Technology in Practice

Our first design was for an aquamarine pendant set in 14-karat gold with five bead-set diamonds. Nancy cut a five-sided stone, an original shield-cut design, to best use a large piece of aquamarine rough. The cut aquamarine showed great color and sparkle, but its odd shape did not generate much interest with customers, and we agreed that if we didn't set the stone, it probably wouldn't sell. We have found that odd-shaped stones produce unique designs that sell only when they are already set in jewelry mountings.

We settled on a design that best complemented the chevron-shaped stone, and rendered a jewelry image that closely followed its geometric lines. We decided to set five small diamonds in a straight line along the top using small beads manufactured in place. With the small beads and predrilled, tapered holes precisely placed, it was a simple task to set the diamonds. The design had a basket underneath the stone that was invisible when viewed from the top. Precise dimensions of the stone's width and pavilion angles were used to establish the dimensions of the seat in the gold pendant mounting. We established these dimensions to have the stone dropped easily into place and secured with two tabs along the top. These tabs were pushed over to provide a very secure setting without covering up much of the stone. The design software allowed us to incorporate a loop for hanging a lovely creamy pink freshwater pearl below the aquamarine.

The design began with a scan of the stone. By laying the stone on the scanner, we could create an image that could then be traced in SolidWorks. We now have the ability to export the stone's geometry directly from GemCad (www.gemcad.net) using a VRML file format. This allows us to see how the stone and the design will interact. In SolidWorks, each component of the design is built from two-dimensional sketches located on three-dimensional drawing planes. These sketches are then transformed into three dimensions by using sweeps, lofts, and extrusions. The bead settings for the diamonds were exactly placed along the top plate, and the finished part reproduced this level of detail in gold with extraordinary accuracy. Setting the diamonds became a very easy task. We did have to use a hart bur to fine-tune an exact fit for the diamonds, but the setting time was greatly reduced.

Return to the Main Story, "CAD/CAM for the Studio Artist"

TOP: The computer-designed and manufactured setting for the pendant shown BELOW. The seats will correspond precisely to the gemstone the artist wishes to set.

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