FCD CAD assistance request

[chrono]

Remember also that we removed a third leaf from the bottom and a "reverse" bend on the top of the big leaf.
I don't understand this sentence. Can you please provide the picture that shows this?

I missed caysie's brilliant design!!! I would have dropped a few pointy bits and gone with that but you obviously considered it, just beautiful caysie - well done! It does demonstrate how to get the wavy band though i.e. leaves coming from different directions.
I did share this design with the designer (what a tongue twister ) but he said it would be impractical to wear. It's gorgeous on paper though.

Perhaps another thing to consider is that if you wear the ring on your right hand, the majority of the stones are on what I call the "public" side - towards your pinky - where they are more easily seen by others. So it often helps to view it from that perspective. This is what they will see... are you happy with that? You can see the difference in balance when compared with caysie's.
I like to switch hands; depending on the weather and amount of swelling, I will wear it on both the right and left hand. I don't care what the public sees, this ring is for me so I only consider what I see. I am also considering making this a middle finger ring because my pinky finger isn't long enough to accommodate the full length.

 

[chrono]

I just noticed something else. In your inspiration photo, other than 2 tiny pointy leaves, the rest of the leaves are connected to the diamonds or metal. In your CAD, there's more open space; as in the metal isn't connection to metal or diamond. With more open space, it's easier to catch on clothes and hair. But open space makes the design more realistic since it's only normal for there to be space between flowers and leaves. We hardly ever see leaves and flowers all attached together irl.

That is correct; I am deliberately trying to create more open space with this ring but minimizing the potential of things getting caught by having the ends curved (less pointy) and following the sideways curvature of the finger.

 

[Sunstorm]

I like how this is developing, what a project! Design can be so hard sometimes especially when you are not there to watch the process and add your comments. I have a hard time coming up with designs too but they always change when the piece is being made but in my case I am fortunately there so we can adjust things as we go. It does certainly require patience but it also helps when you have a very experienced jeweler who can also advise not only on visual appearance but what was typical in the era. Now while it is true that Art Noveau jewelry still often had enclosed backs for the stones, I would not recommend this for FCDs because it will really hurt light performance. Even back then they foiled the back of diamonds but the results was still nothing compared to what affect we can achieve with today's techniques. It is a balancing act for sure, try to retain certain features from an era and use more modern techniques too to achieve the best results. I did not realize how time consuming this can be because normally once we start, the piece is finished in a few days even when the work is very complicated but of course it is different when you are there and mainly working on that piece for sometimes 15 hours a day. I tell you it is so much fun to watch it happen! I am not a craftswoman but thinking about learning because I find it really fun but I bet if I was making it it would not be so much fun handforging at first...

 

[Starzin]

I appreciate the time you spent analyzing the CADs/design in detail and the write up accompanying it. I wanted to do it service by reading through your post several times to make sure I fully understand what you are saying. It is never too late for comments because I expect another round or 2 of CADs before moving onto the production phase. No problem it's an intriguing project and I'm just sorry I wasn't around earlier. Good-oh because I fully agree that spending time now on getting the CADs right will reward your patience no matter how many times it is changed.

A definite YES to the bolded. (getting the leaf height, curve and slant right are central to it working well) In looking at your comparison picture, I can see that the leaf is no longer elongated in flow nor elegant. I would like to return closer to the original leaf design but have a more drastic curve down towards the pink diamond because I am concerned the point will catch onto cloth and other things. The designer agreed to have the LH and RH sub-leaves be of different heights. In the intervening time I've sort of come to the conclusion that this leaf needs a complete rework. Someone originally commented that it looks like a dolphin and it does So I'm back looking at Acanthus leaves (more on that later) because I think it needs nubs rather than points and we really need to give the designer the comparison so he can tell the difference. This leaf needs a real rethink, if not redesign. A great deal is going to rest on the carving of the leafy bits which I think you said the designer is going to render a little more realistically in the next version. I'd hold off on the wax, I don't know that it's at that stage yet personally. As to catching 1) this would be resolved with nubs and 2) I don't think with the rings you are used to wearing, that you are that likely to get into trouble as long as there are minimal pointy bits. I assume you put your rings on last - what are you going to be running the back of your hand over on a regular basis?

The designer said he'll try to create as much of an S shape as possible. He did not want to separate out each component too much because that area will become a weak point that could potentially break or become distorted/warped/twisted. Yes I can understand that.

The photo below illustrates what I mean by nubs rather than points on the leaf outlines. Less "hooky" bits but a leaf not a dolphin!


On the other hand, a lot depends on how confidently and 3-dimensionally the leaves are carved. These are two very different ways - one convex and the other concave with very little reliance on sticky-out bits. We may have to wait for the designer's "more realistic" next render to see what he envisages.

 

[Starzin]

Just posting this for consideration as an alternative claw setting for the little diamond.

 

[Starzin]

Remember also that we removed a third leaf from the bottom and a "reverse" bend on the top of the big leaf.
I don't understand this sentence. Can you please provide the picture that shows this?
This is the original caterpillar - we chopped off the top of the leaf and deleted the RH bottom leaf.

I missed caysie's brilliant design!!! I would have dropped a few pointy bits and gone with that but you obviously considered it, just beautiful caysie - well done! It does demonstrate how to get the wavy band though i.e. leaves coming from different directions.
I did share this design with the designer (what a tongue twister ) but he said it would be impractical to wear. It's gorgeous on paper though.
Impractical because of all the pointy bits? Turn most of them into nubs... the impracticality disappears. Where's caysie or indeed another artist who can adjust the pointy bits please? (see more nubs below)

Perhaps another thing to consider is that if you wear the ring on your right hand, the majority of the stones are on what I call the "public" side - towards your pinky - where they are more easily seen by others. So it often helps to view it from that perspective. This is what they will see... are you happy with that? You can see the difference in balance when compared with caysie's.
I like to switch hands; depending on the weather and amount of swelling, I will wear it on both the right and left hand. I don't care what the public sees, this ring is for me so I only consider what I see. I am also considering making this a middle finger ring because my pinky finger isn't long enough to accommodate the full length.
LOL! Fair enough! I'm assuming you mean ring rather than pinky finger but yes with the middle finger idea.

 

[chrono]

On the other hand, a lot depends on how confidently and 3-dimensionally the leaves are carved. These are two very different ways - one convex and the other concave with very little reliance on sticky-out bits. We may have to wait for the designer's "more realistic" next render to see what he envisages.

I'm not loving the nubs. I do think that over time, the pointy bits will wear down to nubs anyway so I might as well go for a well defined leaf and have time take care of it for me. I specifically requested 3D hand-carving on the leaves so that they will have both concave and convex grooves to look like real leaves. Unfortunately, because this takes a lot of time to render in 3D, we will not get to see the details of the hand-carving in any of the CADs.

 

[chrono]

Just posting this for consideration as an alternative claw setting for the little diamond.

Starzin,
Any idea what are the measurements of the small stones in this pin/brooch? I'm guessing they might be 4 mm thereabouts because pins are generally quite large to begin with. My little diamond might only be 2 mm at best. It's super tiny.

 

[chrono]

Ah, I misunderstood your last post, thinking you meant I planned to wear the ring on my pinky finger. My apologies. Design wise, I am drawn to a simpler, less swirly leaf design. I like clean and uncluttered leaves but with very detailed realistic veining and both convex and concave curvature such as the one you showed. It seems very understated and elegant to me.

 

[JewelFreak]

Chrono, I agree & like the style you posted above. It's fluid & understated & would support the stones rather than pushing itself too forward to the eye, if that makes any sense.

--- Laurie

 

[Starzin]

I'm not loving the nubs. Oh well, just trying to give you some other options but if you don't like them, then you don't like them *shrug*
I do think that over time, the pointy bits will wear down to nubs anyway so I might as well go for a well defined leaf and have time take care of it for me.
LOL! And just how many hundreds of years were you planning to wear this ring?
I specifically requested 3D hand-carving on the leaves so that they will have both concave and convex grooves to look like real leaves. Unfortunately, because this takes a lot of time to render in 3D, we will not get to see the details of the hand-carving in any of the CADs. Oh poop!

 

[Starzin]

Starzin,
Any idea what are the measurements of the small stones in this pin/brooch? I'm guessing they might be 4 mm thereabouts because pins are generally quite large to begin with. My little diamond might only be 2 mm at best. It's super tiny.

Ummm... no idea. However if I get my trusty ruler out on one of our 20c coins, I'm thinking maybe the brooch is about 3cm across and the garnet 3mm?

 

[Starzin]

Ah, I misunderstood your last post, thinking you meant I planned to wear the ring on my pinky finger. My apologies. Design wise, I am drawn to a simpler, less swirly leaf design. I like clean and uncluttered leaves but with very detailed realistic veining and both convex and concave curvature such as the one you showed. It seems very understated and elegant to me.

No problem... I understood RH ring finger. Simple, less swirly it is then. Actually if you look at the top leaf of the caterpillar blank above they are more what I meant as "nubby" compared to the latest CAD where they are very pointed. I don't know why I couldn't have said that in the first place. Sometimes you just have to talk these things through

 

[minousbijoux]

Chrono, I agree & like the style you posted above. It's fluid & understated & would support the stones rather than pushing itself too forward to the eye, if that makes any sense.

--- Laurie

+1

Also want to say that Starzin, I'm so impressed with your due diligence, your creativity and your generosity with your time! I hope some time you get to enjoy your talents to make something of your own as well!

 

[Starzin]

Also want to say that Starzin, I'm so impressed with your due diligence, your creativity and your generosity with your time! I hope some time you get to enjoy your talents to make something of your own as well!

Aaaw Minou, thank you sweetie and right back atcha Your own generous contribution, encouragement and support is a delight. I only wish I had the time to take part in more. As to making my own, I have been that route in the past but after having most of it stolen my jewellery is relegated to a few favourite pieces I wear constantly and money goes on other things, but thank you again because I enjoy contributing where I can.

 

[chrono]

I will probably not receive updated CADs until next week but wanted to thank Starzin for her continual help with design and photoshopping. Although I may not utilize all your ideas, it is still helpful to think about different design elements and from a different perspective. I appreciate the time and effort you've taken (and still take) to help me with my project.

And what's this about your jewellery being stolen? I'm very sorry.

 

[Sunstorm]

Wow, Starzin, what happened, how did your jewelry get stolen? This is so very sad, I am sorry to hear about that. I know it would devastate me too because even if you have insurance there are special pieces, memories, heirlooms that can never be replaced.

 

[Starzin]

Chrono - Okaaaaay... so we'll wait with crossed fingers for the next go-round.
You're entirely welcome to whatever input I can give and I'm certainly not the only one. I know my tastes aren't for everyone but -
"Although I may not utilize all your ideas, it is still helpful to think about different design elements and from a different perspective."
This to me is the essence of getting PS input and obviously you feel it's worthwhile to get as much input as possible, so I'm happy to contribute where possible. So I appreciate your appreciation!

The burglary was nearly 10 years ago and I spent most of the insurance money on upgrading security. I was fortunate to be wearing two major rings, just not the bracelet and other favourite ring I wore nearly every day except that one As OVincze said, it's the heirlooms, special gifts and memories you can't replace and much that was taken fell into that category. I have enough for my lifestyle, though like most of us here I would always like more

I enjoy looking at everyone else's pretties though and I've always been a coloured stoner!!!

 

[pregcurious]

Wow, the leaves that you've posted are so organic.

 

[Starzin]

Weeeelll... "next week" has come and gone. Where are we up to please? Waiting very impatiently now it's soooo close!!

 

[T L]

I'm dying to see the completed ring. I bet it will be fit for a Russian empress by the time it's done.

 

[minousbijoux]

Drumming fingers on table...

 

[pregcurious]

Waiting...

 

[swissmiss]

waiting too... though I have not contributed to this thread, I have been following the evolution closely.

 

[chrono]

I am sorry to report there is no update as yet.

 

[pinkjewel]

I am sorry to report there is no update as yet.

oh, bummer... have they given you a time frame for the next revision?

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm sorry to hear that. But as sorry as we are, it must be even more disappointing for you.

 

[chrono]

I have not given JJ a time frame, actually. I am very relaxed about completion dates because I'd rather it be done right the first time and of course it helps that I truly am not in a rush. I understand that I am very detail oriented and I am asking a lot out of the designer, therefore, in return, I do not want to add any additional pressure on the poor guy by pushing hard for updates. I've had the loose stones for so many years that another few months do not bother me although stretching this project out 9 months would have me concerned.

 

[Starzin]

Oh well, we'll just have to wait (im)patiently then

I've had the loose stones for so many years that another few months do not bother me although stretching this project out 9 months would have me concerned.

I think we would all be concerned!

 

[pregcurious]

Setting Zen.