Trios Studio - Pearl Ring 18ky & Platinum

Deborah Spencer creates an elegant ring featuring South Sea pearls of gold and white, set in 18k yellow gold and platinum accented with diamonds. An amazing process!

[@MelodyArmstrongJewellery]

I really enjoy your videos! So educational. Now there are some new tools I must purchase soon.

[@huskyfluffy]

Glad I found this. Great to watch. Nice design! Wish there was more to watch. Why did you say that quenching or pickling it would anneal the posts. Isn't the flame responsible for that? Can you just lightly twist the posts a tiny bit to work harden them again? And what would happen to the diamonds if you pickled it. Aren't they indestructible? Thanks! Always learning.

[@marywong5670]

Hi, Thanks for watching! The goal is to have sturdy posts so annealing them isn't desired. Soldering them, by definition, heats them to the point of annealing, and if you quenched them while hot they will be completely annealed since this essentially "freezes " the molecules in the aligned and expanded state. To retain the most hardness you need to let them air cool. White gold will not be completely annealed if allowed to air cool. You can slightly twist a post or compress along its length with piers, etc. You can also break a post doing that so be careful. Try to use a heavy gauge post and make sure it is a snug fit to the pearl hole so that the epoxy bond is the best it can be. Diamonds are not affected by the pickle, but ALWAYS AIR COOL gems before pickling! Diamonds are susceptible to chipping and cleaving.

[@huskyfluffy]

What do you mean "tapping the pearls"?

[@marywong5670]

When pearls are expensive or large and you want to ensure that they can't come off from adhesive failure you can use a tap and die set to thread the pearl and the post. then, in addition to the adhesive, you can screw the pearl onto the post and it may well never come off! Leave the post slightly large and the hole slightly small to accommodate the tap and die waste.