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 [Seamless Glacial Mist Mokume Gane Wedding and Commitment Rings]
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]
 [Leading Edge Mokume Gane Wedding and Commitment Rings]
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.
Andrew Nyce Designs is dedicated to expanding and improving the Mokume Gane compositions we offer our customers. During the past few weeks, Andrew has been making a number of Mokume billets for the New Year. We thought you might be interested in seeing what these billets look like. And you might be interested in the new alloy combinations.
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.
Andrew Nyce Designs is in the final stages of developing seamless Contour Mokume Gane rings. Presently, our Contour Mokume Gane rings are patterned using flat sheet which, when cut to size and formed into a ring, results in a seam. The seam, in some cases, can disrupt the flowing pattern of the Mokume Gane. The new Seamless Mokume Gane rings are made with a random pattern and will complement our existing line of Contour Mokume Gane rings.
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.
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.
[left to right, Damascus Meridian with hand-textured inlaid band, Damascus Meridian Ultra, Mokume Meridian]
Andrew Nyce Designs formally introduces our Meridian Collection of Mokume Gane and Damascus Stainless Steel wedding, anniversary, and commitment rings. The defining feature of this Collection is an inlaid band of gold, platinum or palladium alloy that encircles the surface of the ring. This precious metal meridian neatly bisects the distinctive Mokume Gane and Damascus Steel patterns. Meridian rings were inspired by our JET Racer Damascus Men’s line.
A meridian is an imaginary arc on the Earth’s surface connecting the North and South geographic poles. All locations along the same meridian have the same longitude. A meridian also can be defined as pathways through the body along which vital energy circulates. Both of these definitions speak to the concept of connectedness, whether it is between locations separated by vast distances on the Earth, within our own bodies, or on the surface of a ring. The Meridian Collection takes this concept of connectedness and wraps it around your finger.
In making a Meridian ring, the starting point is a plain Damascus Steel or Mokume Gane band. A narrow channel is formed along the centerline of the band using either hand tools or a mini lathe. Then, a precious metal alloy square wire is fitted into to the channel and soldered in place.
There are two styles available for Damascus rings: Meridian and Meridian Ultra. The standard Damascus Meridian ring has an inlaid band that is proportional to the overall width of the ring. Meridian Ultra has a narrower inlaid band compared to the standard Meridian style. Only Damascus Meridian rings have the option of a hand-textured inlaid band. There is one style available for Meridian Mokume Gane rings.
Andrew Nyce Designs has added another new patterned Mokume Gane to its line-up. In addition to twist-patterned, Contour (random), and Banded rings, Andrew Nyce Designs has developed a distinctive patterning technique, called Kaleidoscope patterning, for our Mokume Gane wedding, commitment, engagement and fashion rings.
The first Mokume being offered with this patterning is Moonlight Kaleidoscope. Moonlight Kaleidoscope, which is composed of 14K palladium white gold and platinum-enhanced sterling silver, can be ordered for rings in any of the Andrew Nyce Designs Collections, including Essentials, Embraced, Engagement, Meridian and Wedding Sets. Shown above (top to bottom) are an Embraced and Essentials Mokume ring with Moonlight Kaleidoscope.
The pattern is reminiscent of an old fashioned Kaleidoscope. In the case of Moonlight Kaleidoscope, the gray and light relates to the shadows and light we often see on the surface of the moon. A variation on this process would involve combining some of our existing Mokume color palettes such as Glacial Mist and Santa Fe. By doing so, not only will the pattern be different, but colors will be introduced into various areas of the pattern.
Jewelry Studio Notes (a technical discussion of Andrew’s work on Kaleidoscope patterning)
The origins of the Kaleidoscope pattern can be traced to our new Damascus patterns, Art Deco and Woodcut. In the Damascus process, stainless steel is stacked in specific configurations. For the Kaleidoscope patterning, precious metal alloys are stacked in essentially the same manner as for the new Damascus patterns.
“I use the TEMTP bonding system, which was developed jointly by Stewart Grice of Hoover and Strong, James Binnion of Binnion Metal Arts and myself, when making Mokume billets. Using this system, I am able to alternate parallel layers of various precious metal alloys with vertical slices from a previously bonded billet of the same alloys. This stacked assembly of alloys is bonded, forged and rolled, and then, sliced, twisted and rolled into a square rod; exactly the same procedure as when making a twist-patterned Mokume billet.”
“The square rod is patterned in the same way as for a twist-patterned billet. However, I am cutting into both the parallel layers as well as the vertical layers. Thus, the Kaleidoscope pattern shows the narrow parallel layers along with the wider layers of the vertical layers. The vertical layers become wider during the forging and rolling steps due to their orientation.”
For future iterations of the Kaleidoscope pattern, we will use different alloys depending upon the color and pattern trying to be achieved.
Andrew Nyce Designs continues to expand its offerings of patterned Mokume Gane rings. In addition to twist-patterned and random-patterned (Contour) rings, we have developed a new banded patterning technique for our line-up of Mokume Gane wedding, commitment, engagement and fashion rings.
Banded-patterning can be applied to any two-, three-, or four-tone twist pattern Mokume composition (color palette) including Glacial Mist, Ashes and Snow, Santa Fe, or Maui Sunset. Pictured above is Painted Desert Mokume, one of our three-tone Mokume color palettes.
As you can see, Banded Mokume rings have subtle wave-like patterns such as those found in the banded sandstone formations in Paria Canyon, Arizona. The design offers simplicity and elegance.
These gentle undulations will appear different depending upon the width of the ring and the Mokume color palette selected. Banded Mokume rings without the undulations are available upon request for those who prefer straight-line banded patterning.
The starting material for the banded patterning is the pattern found on the side of standard twist pattern Mokume billets. These billets consist of horizontal layers of different colored precious metal alloys in varying thicknesses depending upon which color palette is being used. However, Banded patterned billets do not require any twisting or re-rolling as the twist-patterned billets do. The small undulations are made by selectively forging the Mokume billet.
Because Banded Mokume rings require less time to process, pricing for these rings is up to 20% less than their twist-pattern Mokume counterparts.
An exclusive new Stainless Steel Mokume Gane composition, named Shadows and Light, has been developed by Andrew in his studio. The new composition, comprising 40 layers of 316 stainless steel and platinum-enhanced sterling silver, is made using our Contour (random) patterning technique. Rings made with this innovative Mokume composition have been selected to launch Andrew Nyce Designs’ newest line: the Mokume Gane Men’s Collection.
Typically, Mokume Gane utilizes alternating layers of precious metals including gold, platinum, palladium and silver alloys. Traditional Japanese Mokume Gane was made by combining various copper alloys. Other metals and alloys have been incorporated into modern Mokume compositions. However, Andrew is the first metalsmith to successfully marry 316 stainless steel with precious metals through the use of solid-state diffusion bonding, hot forging, and cold rolling.
Andrew Nyce Designs plans to expand its line of Stainless Steel Mokume Gane with an 18K yellow gold and 316 stainless steel Mokume composition. The new composition will be introduced in Fall 2009 as part of the Mokume Men’s Collection. It also will feature a stainless steel channel which is the standard for all Mokume Gane rings in the Men’s Collection.
Our new Mokume Men’s rings marry the ancient Japanese metalworking art of Mokume Gane with the craftsmanship of Damascus Steel. The origin of both these techniques is rooted firmly in swordmaking. Mokume Gane Men’s rings offer the strength and fortitude that mirror their history.
Jewelry Studio Notes (a technical discussion of Andrew’s work on Stainless Steel Mokume)
Leading up to his new development, Andrew reviewed the current research that touched upon a stainless steel and precious metal Mokume. In 2004, Jim Binnion demonstrated that 22K gold and pure iron as well as platinum and pure iron could be bonded and subsequently processed into twist patterned Mokume Gane rings. However, in his 2002 book “Mokume Gane”, Ian Ferguson stated that the fine silver and stainless steel Mokume Gane is not at all malleable: microscopic examination showed massive disintegration of the stainless steel layers. According to Ferguson, “in this respect, it cannot be considered a true Mokume Gane at all, as the pattern cannot be controlled. It must be deformed red hot using a power hammer and must be hot rolled, it requires; it requires frequent annealing, there is massive extrusion of the fine silver at the edges and often tearing through the sheet. It presents an interesting natural disintegrated pattern and can be patinated in a range of colors. Due to forming difficulties, it is recommended to use the material in the flat form.”
According to Andrew, “this prior work painted a very discouraging backdrop against which I attempted to bond 316 stainless steel to precious metal alloys. Binnion’s work using pure iron is impressive, but his results do not suggest that bonding 316 stainless steel would be possible. Pure iron is very soft and unlike 316 stainless does not form any oxides that would impede bonding. Stainless steel, on the other hand, forms a tough chromium oxide layer that makes solid state diffusion bonding problematic.”
Nevertheless, Andrew was able to use the metallurgical principles to successfully bond 316 stainless steel to platinum-enhanced sterling silver as well as to 18K yellow gold. “The melting points of the sterling silver and the 18K yellow gold were critical to the success of bonding with the 316 stainless steel. The annealing temperature of the 316 stainless steel/18K yellow gold and the 316 stainless steel/Sterling in between cold pressing and cold rolling must be high enough to anneal the 316 stainless steel, but not to melt the sterling silver or the 18K yellow gold. Metallurgical phase diagrams were used to determine feasibility of diffusion bonding and to determine whether any low melting phase would form during processing. Cold and hot forging along with cold rolling were successfully employed in producing both contour patterned Mokume Gane compositions.”
“I am currently testing these materials for use in making twist-patterned Mokume Gane. The use of carbon-containing protective atmospheres was shown to be a problem that was solved by “canning” the Mokume during annealing and hot forging. The bonded 316 Stainless steel and 18K yellow gold and 316 stainless steel and platinum-enhanced sterling silver could be cold rolled by as much as 15% between anneals without bond failure.”
These new Stainless Steel Mokume Gane compositions have the following advantages:
- They are inherently more wear-resistant because of the 316 stainless steel
- The 316 stainless steel imparts a color similar to platinum, but a luster that is richer
- A black oxide coating can be applied to the 316 stainless steel for added contrast
- They are potentially less expensive than a 14K palladium white gold and sterling silver Mokume composition
- The ability to etch either the 316 stainless or the sterling silver (Shadows and Light Mokume)
The potential cost savings, compared to typical precious metal Mokume Gane compositions, will depend upon our ability to find a company who can refine Mokume Gane compositions containing stainless steel. One refiner has turned us down, but another refiner has indicated that they will evaluate the feasibility of refining our scrap. If we cannot find refiners who are able to do this, Andrew Nyce Designs is committed to developing the technology ourselves.
Andrew Nyce Designs is now offering a new, lower cost version of our Ashes and Snow Mokume. Ashes and Snow Mokume comprises alternating layers of precious metals; specifically, layers of 950 platinum, 14K palladium white gold, and platinum-enhanced sterling silver. The new version substitutes 950 palladium for 950 platinum and 3% palladium sterling silver for platinum-enhanced sterling silver.
Normally, Ashes and Snow Mokume requires more time to make because of the number of steps and time involved in bonding the platinum layers to the platinum-enhanced sterling silver layers. Platinum has a much lower thermal expansion than sterling silver and if the Mokume is cooled too rapidly, the bonds break. Therefore, it is necessary to cool this Mokume composition very slowly after each annealing and forging step (Binnion, Nyce and Grice, Santa Fe Symposium, 2006). Bonding 950 palladium to sterling silver is not at all difficult and has been done by other Mokume artists so this is a logical extension of the prior art and lowers the cost of our Ashes and Snow Mokume.
We will continue to offer both versions of Ashes and Snow Mokume. Both versions will be available in all of our Twist (pictured above), Contour, and Banded pattern Mokume wedding and engagement rings.
Platinum is a luxury metal and has been extensively marketed by the Platinum Guild as the metal to use in engagement and wedding rings. In recent years, it has become the metal of choice for couples getting married. However, in 2008, when the price of platinum topped $2200 per troy ounce, a number of precious metal companies began developing and marketing palladium alloys to replace platinum as the metal of choice for wedding rings; they have been very successful.
Platinum has a higher density than any other precious metal, does not tarnish, and has a beautiful luster. Palladium is in the Platinum Group metals and it’s color, luster, and mechanical properties are similar to platinum. The main difference between platinum and palladium is their respective densities (21.46 grams per cubic centimeter for platinum vs 12.023 grams per cubic centimeter for palladium). Platinum rings feel much heavier than palladium rings. But, in our Mokume compositions, these density differences are not quite as noticeable.
Price is another divergent factor. For reference, the spot price of platinum on August 19, 2009 was nearly fives times higher than palladium ($1221 vs. $268). The price difference between the two versions of Ashes and Snow Mokume, now known as Ashes and Snow – Platinum and Ashes and Snow – Palladium, is significant. So, for those watching their wedding and engagement budgets, this new composition makes economic sense. Request a quote on both Ashes and Snow compositions and compare for yourself.
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