Making a silver cabochon ring with embellishments - STEP BY STEP

In this video, I show I make a basic cabochon stone ring with wire embellishment. This is a video of me making this type of design for the first time, so the construction is very linear, piece by piece. If I were to make this ring again, I would certainly change the order of the operations to make it more efficient. However, when exploring a new design, it is alot of fun to make it up as I go along and watch the piece grow.
Materials:
The metal I'm using is Argentium, which is a modern silver alloy containing 93.5% silver.
12 ga half-round wire
www.riogrande.com/product/arg...
21 ga round wire
www.riogrande.com/product/arg...
6mm bezel cup
www.riogrande.com/product/arg...
Jade cabochon
www.riogrande.com/product/nep...

[@jcorey333]

That looks really cool! I appreciate you showing how you messed up and learned from it.

[@francissmithcraft]

Thanks!

[@GilbertoPeraltaLapidacao]

Ganhou mais um admirador do seu trabalho aqui do Brasil like

[@francissmithcraft]

Obrigado!

[@ypcomchic]

Great job! I’ve always wanted to create silver jewelry but don’t have funds to get all that’s needed.

[@francissmithcraft]

Thanks! I hear you. The list of tools is never ending, and even a recommended beginner's list is not cheap. That being said, if silversmithing is something you really want to do, I would encourage you to get started anyway, without "everything" you need. If you can get the bare minimum to start learning some silver soldering, then you can start building your skill, which is the thing that can't be bought. Then you can slowly add to your tools over time. Let me know if you would like any recommendations. I'm happy to share! Best of luck!

[@marian1576]

Very excellent tutorial. I love how you start off shaping your band for soldering. I have never liked the D shape many people use. Can you please speak to what type solder you are using as you go along - hard, medium, easy? Also, you say that you would do the steps differently - what would you do??

[@francissmithcraft]

Thanks for the comment! I'm using the same solder for the whole video, which is medium Argentium solder from riogrande. Regarding the different step order, instead of attaching each wire one at a time and bending it into place, I would solder all the wires to the bezel cup at the beginning using solder paste. Then I would bend them all into place and solder the rest of the joints. I would end up with the same design, using with fewer solder steps. I think this method works best when I know clearly what I'm trying to create. For exploring different ideas, the step-by-step method is alot of fun for me! Hope this clarifies! If it's still not clear, just let me know and I can easily make a quick video explaining.

[@jcorey333]

I agree that it's better to start with it round rather than use the D method that a lot of people use.