Casting a ring?

[SilverVT]

I have an initial ring that I have had since I was around 12. I wore it on my index finger all the way through college. It''s not a signet ring, it''s my initials carved out and made into a "design" of sorts. It''s a very typical ring for girls that are born in this city I live in to own and wear.

I have since stopped wearing yellow gold. My engagement ring is platinum and as of next month my wedding band will be too.

A couple of years ago I went to see about having an identical one made, only in white gold or sterling silver. I waited too long to decide to do it and now the man has stopped producing rings.

I was told that my options are to plate the yellow gold ring or have it cast.

Has anyone ever had a ring cast? How much does it generally cost? Can there be damage to the original ring? Will it look identical or will there be some differences? Would it be better/safer to plate the ring?

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[jewelerman]

The jeweler will make a wax copy of the ring and depending on his ability to copy detail will determine if the ring is exact.There will be a charge for this...in my area...any where from $50-$200 to have a wax replica made.The cost of the ring will be broken down into labor and materials...metals are high right now so this will bring up the cost of the ring and also depending if its in sterling or white gold and how much metal is used.The labor charges depend on how many hours go into the actual manufacture of the ring.

 

[Jelly]

Link to Adwar Casting Company

Try this link and look around. Any of them resemble these rings?

 

[Jelly]

I kinda like this one. Places like Whiteflash would order the cast, set some of their gorgeous ACA diamonds in it, and you''ve got a blingy initial ring! Yum!

 

[Jelly]

This one looks a little more artistic and sophisticated:

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Depending on the carving, it is possible to have a rubber mold made of the ring. It really depends on the shape of it, though. Do you have a picture?

 

[krispi]

I don''t have any experience with castings, but I did have a sapphire ring in yellow gold that I stopped wearing. This weekend, I took it to the jewelry store to have it rhodium plated, and it looks great! It only took a few minutes and only cost me $35. I wore it to dinner with my family that night and got lots of compliments. My mom even said that she thought it looked better than it ever did as a yellow gold ring. Granted, it''s only been a couple of days, but the plating seems to have adhered pretty well. It''s not a permanent solution and will probably have to be redone at some point, but at least I''m getting some use out of the ring now instead of it sitting at home in a drawer. I think it was well worth the money I paid. Just thought I''d throw that out there. You might want to try plating it first, since it''s a much cheaper option. You may like the results well enough to not need to cast it.

 

[SilverVT]

jewelerman - thanks for the info!

jelly - thanks for the idea (I do love more diamonds!) but my ring doesn't actually look anything like any of those. It's all my initials - arranged like F - L - M (f- first, l - last, m - middle).

As requested, I have attached an image.

krispi - I had thought about plating it...I just don't know how successful will it be based on the ring. And what if I randomly decide I no longer want the plating? How often would it need to be re-dipped?

Do you think plating it would be a good option based on the picture?

 

[LGK]

I think I would first try plating it. Rhodium plate can be removed by polishing if you hate it. It might be a bit of a pain with the complex design there, but I''m sure it could be done. The need for replating would kinda depend on how often you wear it, how hard you are on your stuff, and your body chemistry. I had one ring I wore every day for three years and swam in and so on, and it only started looking de-rhodiumed after three years of hard wear. You''ll probably see wear on the shank first where your fingers touch.