Leon shanks

[DiamondCat]

Can anybody shed light on how Leon can manage to make his shanks so thin (under 2mm) yet other vendors I''ve contacted refuse to go below 2mm because they don''t want to compromise the integrity of the setting? I don''t understand how Leon can make his so thin but others won''t go as thin.

 

[chrono]

I wonder if the difference is because Leon''s work is handmade (wire work) versus most other vendor''s cast setting?

 

[ChunkyCushionLover]

Date: 1/30/2010 12:46:30 PM
Author:DiamondCat
Can anybody shed light on how Leon can manage to make his shanks so thin (under 2mm) yet other vendors I've contacted refuse to go below 2mm because they don't want to compromise the integrity of the setting? I don't understand how Leon can make his so thin but others won't go as thin.

Three things to consider:

1) If it has pave diamonds you can't go as thin. Think about a shank under 2mm with a bunch of holes drilled into it like swiss cheese, with pave diamonds is much less solid than without.

2) Along with the width the height or thickness has to be considering, you can go thinner if you have more height.

3) Platinum is more structually solid it bends instead of breaking more easily than WG and can take more abuse, so platinum allows bands to be thinner.

In general CAD/CAM and Wax designers are not capable of creating pieces as delicate and refined as someone like Leon, they also don't have as skilled settors which is the major part of it, even so our prong set bands from ERD are 1.9mm so it is possible. In addition you can go much thinner for plain bands for sure even with CAD/CAM wax. I would caution you though there was a thread a while ago about the shanks in the 1.5mm Leon micropave bands being bent so I wouldn't necessarily reccomend going that thin.

 

[swingirl]

I have a 3-sided pave ring by Leon Mege. I believe it''s 1.8mm. The delicate benchwork is amazing and the stones are graduated in size. I don''t wear mine 24/7. I take it off for dirty jobs or rough activities but I haven''t bent the platinum or lost any stones (there are 120 of them). I can attest to the workmanship they do at Leon Mege''s studio. He takes his micropave very seriously.

 

[DiamondCat]

Thanks for the replies so far. I should have mentioned in my post that I was asking about plain shanks. Would a shank under 2mm bend easily? This is the impression I got from vendors who say they won''t go under 2mm.

 

[ChunkyCushionLover]

Date: 2/1/2010 5:58:52 PM
Author: DiamondCat
Thanks for the replies so far. I should have mentioned in my post that I was asking about plain shanks. Would a shank under 2mm bend easily? This is the impression I got from vendors who say they won''t go under 2mm.

A band can bend even if its 3mm it just depends on how rough you are with your rings. As I mentioned before a plain band with appropriate height in platinum should be durable enough if you are reasonablt careful you can go below 2mm. I think though many jeweler''s make that comment to protect themselves and highlight the potential risk greater risk of bending. How thin a shank did you want? You should ask Leon he will tell you how often he has to repair his rings and about their durability.

 

[DiamondCat]

Well I dare not ask him about the durability of his rings, I may get my head bitten off lol. I''m quite careful with my jewellery and I was looking to go slightly under 2mm... maybe around 1.6mm. I hope that''s not too thin

 

[elle_chris]

Awhile ago I spoke to him about doing a pave band under 2mm. He didn't want to do it in platinum do to durability issues, and kept insisting on white gold. I also thought Platinum would be the better choice but he was against it.
As I can't wear white gold, it didn't happen.


DiamondCat- If he thinks a design isn't durable, he'll let you know.

Swingirl- I wanted mine at about 1.3

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 2/1/2010 6:44:48 PM
Author: elle_chris
Awhile ago I spoke to him about doing a pave band under 2mm. He didn''t want to do it in platinum do to durability issues, and kept insisting on white gold. I also thought Platinum would be the better choice but he was against it.

As I can''t wear white gold, it didn''t happen.

elle, is Leon working in white gold now? I have always heard he will only do platinum.

 

[elle_chris]

Date: 2/1/2010 9:22:39 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 2/1/2010 6:44:48 PM
Author: elle_chris
Awhile ago I spoke to him about doing a pave band under 2mm. He didn''t want to do it in platinum do to durability issues, and kept insisting on white gold. I also thought Platinum would be the better choice but he was against it.

As I can''t wear white gold, it didn''t happen.

elle, is Leon working in white gold now? I have always heard he will only do platinum.

I assumed white gold since i initially told him platinum. Maybe he was thinking yellow? hmm.. good question. Not sure now..

 

[CharmyPoo]

Date: 2/1/2010 6:44:48 PM
Author: elle_chris
Awhile ago I spoke to him about doing a pave band under 2mm. He didn''t want to do it in platinum do to durability issues, and kept insisting on white gold. I also thought Platinum would be the better choice but he was against it.
As I can''t wear white gold, it didn''t happen.


DiamondCat- If he thinks a design isn''t durable, he''ll let you know.

Swingirl- I wanted mine at about 1.3

I find this surprising. Leon seems to be a hard core platinum guy with many super thin shanks.

 

[elle_chris]

Charmy- I was asking him for something that''s even thinner than what he normally does. I needed it to be very thin and flat. He said gold would be better. Wasn''t thrilled about platinum at all. I didn''t push it..lol..

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 2/1/2010 9:33:15 PM
Author: elle_chris
Charmy- I was asking him for something that''s even thinner than what he normally does. I needed it to be very thin and flat. He said gold would be better. Wasn''t thrilled about platinum at all. I didn''t push it..lol..

Interesting...that might answer my question. My bands from Sally on Etsy are 1.2 mm thick. I wouldn''t do anything rough with them, but they seem to be OK for normal wear. They are in gold, I wonder why the gold is better.

 

[D&T]

Date: 2/1/2010 9:37:52 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker



Interesting...that might answer my question. My bands from Sally on Etsy are 1.2 mm thick. I wouldn't do anything rough with them, but they seem to be OK for normal wear. They are in gold, I wonder why the gold is better.

because plat is softer, gold would retain its' shape better over time, plat would still win out, even if it went out of shape, it won't break off as easily as gold alloy mix will. I even asked about tension setting from a different jeweler (a G&A setting) and they said they would rather make them out of gold vs Platinum (plus it would save quite a bundle on the pocket book as well)

 

[elmo]

Date: 2/1/2010 6:27:00 PM
Author: DiamondCat
Well I dare not ask him about the durability of his rings, I may get my head bitten off lol. I''m quite careful with my jewellery and I was looking to go slightly under 2mm.

If you really want to get your head bitten off, ask him to make it wider than 2mm

.

 

[laurenfischer5]

yeah, I''m going to say its because of the hardness of the platinum..