Andrew Nyce Designs has launched a number of new designs and patterns for Summer 2010 with the theme Something New and Something Blue. Because, who really wants something borrowed or old? Designs this Summer incorporated more gemstones not only into traditional engagement rings, but into men’s rings as well. Black diamonds are a trend we could not afford to ignore. Blue Sapphires are a pleasing complement to both the steely tones of our Damascus rings as well as to the subtle hues of our white-metal Mokume Gane palettes like Ashes and Snow. In addition, we have worked to created some new Damascus patterns and refreshed a few others.

[top: Glacial Mist Mokume Gane Blue Sapphire Engagement Ring]
[bottom: Glacial Mist Mokume Gane 3-Stone Diamond Engagement Ring]

For our Mokume Gane Engagement Ring Collection, we have added a three-stone diamond engagement ring. This refined, traditional setting works well with our lighter Mokume Gane palettes, like Glacial Mist or Ashes and Snow. A Blue Sapphire sitting in the 6-prong setting adds just the right amount of color to make the ring truly eye-popping.

[left to right: Essentials Damascus Rings with Wave Rider, Quasar, Safari, Thor, Remington and Woodcut patterns]

Four new Damascus patterns have been added to our line: Wave Rider, Quasar, Safari and Thor. In addition, we have refreshed Remington (circles and ovals are more distinct) and Woodcut (now with broader lines). Wave Rider is a Special Edition pattern that is available in limited stock. When the stock is used up, the pattern will no longer be offered. The image above shows the new patterns as Essentials Damascus wedding rings. Below, the patterns are shown as JET Men’s Damascus ring.

Our men’s rings are offered in a narrow size range (7 to 13) and wider overall width (8mm and 10mm) than our Essentials rings (sizes 4 to 13 and widths 4mm to 10mm). JET rings come standard with a black oxide coating; black oxide coatings are an option for Essentials rings.

Canyonlands TriGold is a new Mokume Gane color palette composed of layers of 14K Yellow Gold, 14K Palladium White Gold and 14K Red Gold. Canyonlands TriGold evokes the dramatic and colorful landscape of Southeastern Utah.

[Canyonlands TriGold Mokume Gane Wedding Ring Set]

Finally, if you see some design elements of our rings that you like and want to combine it with other design elements into a totally new ring, ask us. We’d be happy to make a custom-designed work of art for you. Who wouldn’t want to see Black diamonds combined with Ceylon Blue Sapphire. The Black & Blue Men’s Ring…a new design for the Fall, perhaps?

[Mockup of a Black & Blue Damascus Men's Ring]

]]> http://www.andrewnycedesigns.com/blog/mokume/something-new-and-something-blue/feed/ 0 http://www.andrewnycedesigns.com/blog/mokume/green-with-envy/ http://www.andrewnycedesigns.com/blog/mokume/green-with-envy/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:59:08 +0000 Andrew http://www.andrewnycedesigns.com/blog/?p=233

[Desert Sunrise Mokume Gane]

Andrew Nyce Designs has modified the precious metals that comprise the Desert Sunrise Mokume Gane. Previously, Desert Sunrise was composed with layers of 14K Palladium White Gold and 18K Yellow Gold. The new Desert Sunrise contains 14K Green Gold in place of the 18K Yellow Gold.

The exquisite look of the 14K Green Gold is very lovely and is a lower cost alternative to 18K Yellow Gold. We hope that you are as excited about this stunning addition to our line as we are!

[Glacial Mist Palladium Mokume Gane]

Andrew Nyce Designs has two lower cost Mokume Gane compositions to suit your budget. The first, Ashes and Snow Palladium, was introduced last year. In late January, we launched Glacial Mist Palladium.

Ashes and Snow Platinum comprises layers of 950 Platinum, 14K Palladium White Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver. Ashes and Snow Palladium contains 950 Palladium in place of 950 Platinum and is much lower in cost than Ashes and Snow Platinum.

Glacial Mist PW comprises layers of 14K Palladium White Gold and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver. Glacial Mist Palladium contains 950 Palladium in place of Palladium White Gold and is lower in cost than Glacial Mist PW. It is also slightly lighter in appearance than Glacial Mist PW.

Andrew Nyce Designs now offers Seamless Mokume Gane rings. The new Seamless Mokume Gane rings are made with a Contour (random) pattern.

Initially, Andrew Nyce Designs will offer Seamless rings in Glacial Mist Mokume Gane which comprises alternating layers of 14K Palladium White Gold and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.

The Seamless Glacial Mist Mokume Gane is a band of 14K Palladium White Gold and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver with Contour pattern set in a 950 Palladium channel. Seamless Mokume is available with a channel, as part of the Embraced Collection, or a liner, as part of the Essentials Collection.

The Seamless rings were created from this patterned tube of Glacial Mist Mokume Gane in January of this year. Seamless Mokume Gane tube provides an unbroken pattern.

For a given starting weight of Mokume, more rings can be made from the patterned seamless tube than from a hand patterned sheet of Mokume Gane in less time.This translates to a lower cost per ring for the seamless and this cost-savings is passed on to our customers!

[Seamless Patterned Tube of Glacial Mist Mokume Gane]

Andrew Nyce Designs is introducing a new Collection to its line of Mokume Gane and Damascus Steel Wedding and Commitment rings. The Leading Edge Collection is defined by rounded raised edges that match the height of the domed profile of the Mokume Gane or Damascus Steel band.

[Leading Edge Damascus Stainless Steel Wedding and Commitment Rings]

If a prominently curved ring surface is more your style, the Leading Edge Collection is the right match. Your favorite Mokume Gane or Damascus Stainless Steel band is outlined with a liner and rounded raised edges made from Gold, Platinum, or Palladium to create a three-dimensional work of art. A domed profile is standard for Leading Edge rings and adds even more depth.

For an elegant ring with a little more edge, check out our Leading Edge Mokume Gane and Damascus Steel wedding and commitment rings.

Billets 1 through 3 represent Mokume Gane compositions where we have introduced different precious metals to our existing color palettes. These new compositions may be added to our existing Mokume Gane color palettes in 2010. We continue to explore lower cost Mokume compositions that do not sacrifice elegance for affordability. Our goal is to provide Mokume Gane to suit your budget.

• Billet 1 – In this billet, we have taken the Desert Sunset palette (14K Palladium White Gold and 18K Royal Yellow Gold) and substituted the 18K Royal Yellow Gold with 14K Green Gold.
• Billet 2 – In this billet, we have taken the Glacial Mist palette (14K Palladium White Gold and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver) and substituted the 14K Palladium White Gold with 950 Palladium.
• Billet 3 – In this billet, we have taken the Ashes and Snow palette (950 Platinum, 14K Palladium White Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver) and substituted the 950 Platinum with 14K Green Gold.

Aside from being a lower cost alternative to Platinum and 18K Yellow Gold, the aesthetics of 14K Green Gold are very pleasing. We like it and hope you will too. And using 950 Palladium in place of 14K Palladium White Gold is a great way to provide a Mokume Gane with the classic, sophisticated look of Glacial Mist at a lower cost and with a more subtle contrast.

Billets 4 through 7 represent some of our standard Mokume Gane compositions. These billets are being made into rings for customers or for use in new ring designs that we will introduce in the first quarter of 2010.

• Billet 4 – Glacial Mist comprises layers of 14K Palladium White Gold and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.
• Billet 5 – Maui Sunset comprises layers of 14K Palladium White Gold, 18K Royal Yellow Gold, 14K Red Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.
• Billet 6 – Santa Fe comprises layers of 14K Palladium White Gold, 14K Red Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.
• Billet 7 – Painted Desert comprises layers of 18K Royal Yellow Gold, 14K Red Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.

The seamless Mokume Gane process provides a fast, efficient, and lower cost method of making our Contour-patterned Mokume Gane rings. The advantages of seamless Mokume Gane vs patterned flat sheet include:

• Seamless Mokume Gane tube provides an unbroken pattern.

• More rings can be made from the seamless tube than from a hand patterned sheet of Mokume Gane, which translates to a lower cost per ring; this cost-savings is passed on to our customers.

• Seamless Mokume Gane rings can be sized up or down quickly and efficiently compared with Mokume Gane rings with seams.

Contour Mokume Gane Process

The process I currently use for making Contour Mokume Gane involves bonding a multi-layer stack of precious metal alloy sheets to form a billet. The billet is hot forged and cold rolled to a thickness suitable for hand-patterning and subsequently rolling into a sheet from which ring strips are cut. The ends of the strips are soldered together to form a ring that, typically, is set in a channel or lined. Part of this process involves aligning the Mokume pattern on either end of the strip.

New Seamless Process

In order to create seamless Mokume, I utilize a new die to bond the layers of precious metal alloy sheets. The process for bonding, hot forging and cold rolling the resulting billet for making seamless rings is identical to that for flat sheet Mokume. The billet is hot forged and cold rolled to the precise thickness suitable for deep drawing.

In the deep drawing process, the billet is placed over a tapered die and a punch is placed on top. The assembly is placed in a hydraulic press and pressure is applied forcing the punch to draw the disc through the die. The resulting cup-shaped form is successively drawn through smaller and smaller dies to form a long seamless tube that is suitable for patterning. Patterning the seamless tube is similar to that for flat sheet with the exception of a proprietary step called “ironing” which further reduces the thickness of the tube.

My current work with seamless Mokume is built on the experiments that I have conducted on seamless Mokume over the last years 6 years. Earlier experiments involved deep drawing a pre-patterned Mokume Gane sheet. The resulting pattern contained undesirable distortions and was not suitable for rings. Two years ago, I found that I could pattern and “iron” a tube of Copper and Sterling Silver Mokume Gane and achieve an undistorted pattern that was very attractive.

Seamless tube of Copper/Sterling Silver Mokume Gane

So, I decided to extend the experiment to our Glacial Mist composition (14K Palladium White Gold with Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver). Currently, I am patterning a tube of Glacial Mist Mokume Gane and plan to offer customers seamless rings made from this material in early 2010.

The Art Deco pattern has bold rounded and linear elements that intersect each with other forming modern motifs. Shown below are two rings with the Art Deco pattern: a JET Men’s ring with a black oxide coating (top) and an Embraced Wedding ring with an 18K gold channel.

Woodcut pays homage to the thick, flowing lines of a woodcut print. The pattern also reflects more Earthly forms such as the furrows in a freshly plowed field. Shown below are two Men’s rings with the JET ring sitting atop a BOLD ring. Both rings have the Woodcut pattern and a black oxide coating.

The wider Cosmic pattern mirrors the vast emptiness of space punctuated by striking and beautiful interstellar bodies. Shown below is a JET Men’s ring with the Cosmic pattern and a black oxide coating.

All of these patterns are available for any ring within any of the Andrew Nyce Designs Damascus Collections.

Jewelry Studio Notes (a technical discussion of Andrew’s work on new Damascus patterns)

Woodcut and Art Deco are both produced from the same starting material. We use a stacking arrangement consisting of alternating layers of 316L and 304L stainless steel. This assembly is bonded using a proprietary process. Then, the material is forged into a round bar of a predetermined diameter, twisted, forged into a square and then machined into a round bar. The Art Deco pattern is found on the surface of the round bar. If, after the twisting step, the round bar is forged flat instead of into a square, the result is the Woodcut pattern.

The Cosmic pattern is similar in appearance to both the Wood Grain and Celestial patterns. The starting materials for Cosmic are parallel layers of Damascus that have been twisted to a 70-degree starting angle, forged into a square shape, and then machined into a round bar. Both the Cosmic pattern and subtle variations of the Cosmic pattern are found on the surface of the round bar. From a production standpoint, the Cosmic pattern is an undistorted Wood Grain pattern.

[Blue Flame Rings set in an 18K gold channel (left) and platinum-enhanced sterling silver channel (right) ]

About 7 years ago, I began making jewelry using a unique process that incorporated an oxyacetylene torch to sculpt the surface of semi-solid silver alloys into ripples and waves. I enjoyed the challenge of this work and created some strikingly beautiful jewelry. However, I became so intensely interested in Mokume Gane and Damascus that I set this third jewelry-making technique aside. Until now. I have returned to the idea of creating jewelry with this process under the name Blue Flame.

Blue Flame Jewelry is created by sculpting silver alloys into ripples and waves using an intense oxyacetylene (blue) flame. The initial step involves subjecting a specially formulated sheet of silver alloy to a pre-oxidation and acid-etching treatment. This treatment creates a thin layer of pure silver on the surface of the silver alloy sheet.

Using an oxyacetylene flame, I preheat the sheet to just below the point where the interior of the silver alloy sheet begins to melt. The surface layer of pure silver, which has a higher melting point, remains solid. The challenge is to prevent the liquid metal alloy from “burning” through the solid pure silver layer. As I move the oxyacetylene flame across the sheet, liquid/solid regions are created which, in turn, create the ripples and waves as the alloy beneath the pure solid silver alternately melts and solidifies. The size of the flame and the pre-oxidation conditions determine the size of the surface features. Waves, ripples, swirls and even writing are possible in various scales with this technique.

Although this technique, also known as reticulation, can be used on gold or silver alloys, I have chosen to focus my efforts in the jewelry studio on silver alloys embraced in a channel of precious metal alloys. My initial emphasis will be on making rings, the first of which will be offered through one of our retailers, Taboo Studio in San Diego, California. The plan is to expand into more of our retail outlets into next year. In late 2010, I intend to offer other Blue Flame jewelry, such as pendants and earrings.

If you have any questions or would like more information about Blue Flame rings, please contact us.

[Flame-sculpted necklace handcrafted by Andrew Nyce Designs in 2003]

Andrew Nyce Designs has added a new Stainless Steel Mokume composition to our Mokume Gane Men’s ring lineup. Golden Light Mokume is composed of stainless steel and 18K yellow gold. Golden Light Mokume features a stainless steel channel, which is the standard for all Mokume Gane rings in the Men’s Collection.

Andrew’s research in the jewelry studio enabled him to engineer this innovative marriage of precious metal alloy and stainless steel. Like Shadows and Light Mokume, our stainless steel and platinum-enhanced sterling silver composition, Golden Light Mokume is made with a random pattern. Both the Golden Light and Shadows and Light Men’s rings are relief polished with an aggressive abrasive that erodes away the precious metal alloys at a faster rate than either the 316L or 304L Stainless Steel. The result is a contoured relief on the surface of the ring that accentuates the pattern.

The Golden Light Mokume Gane Men’s ring would be a fine accessory for stainless steel and gold watches. Andrew is currently working on a red gold stainless steel Mokume composition that we intend to add to the Men’s Collection by year’s end.