Behind the sparkling display in our shop window is a world of minute accuracy and a passion for handcrafted detail that ensures the engagement ring you choose for your beloved is truly one of a kind. This month we thought we’d take you behind the sparkling shop window and into the depths of our jewellery workshop so you can see what goes into making your one of a kind engagement ring – and why they are the best value rings in Ireland.
Step #1: Engagement Ring Design
We pride ourselves in designing our own engagement rings. We take current trends and fuse them with state-of-the-art jewellery design techniques to produce gorgeous pieces unique to Martin Gear Jewellers.
Step #2: Creating the Engagement Ring Mould
This is a two-step process that begins by hand carving a wax ring, incorporating all the delicate details that the final ring will have. Once the wax ring has been carefully designed and approved, a special plaster is poured around the wax ring to create a mould into which the molten metal can be poured.
Step #3: Casting the Engagement Ring
Molten metal is poured into the plaster mould and allowed to set. It is then carefully filed to remove any rough edges and to expose the details of the ring. The ring undergoes several polishing phases before it is ready for the gems.
Step #4: Preparing the Ring for the Gems
Before the gems are added, each ring is carefully measured, and the claws adjusted to ensure a snug fit for the stones that will complete the design and add the well-known Martin Gear sparkle.
Step #5: Gem Selection
In a parallel process to the ring manufacturing, we source exquisite gems in a variety of shapes and colours to be used in our engagement ring design. Our passion for clarity and gem quality ensures that any engagement ring you purchase from us is of the highest standard.
Step #6: Gem cutting
Cutting gems to make the most of the colour, facets and light is very delicate and precise work, which affects the end result of the engagement ring. Working with the setting in mind, our team ensure that each gem is cut to perfection, ensuring a lifelong shimmer.
Step #7: Gem Setting
Even the most beautiful gem can be clouded by a poor setting where the gem is starved of natural light. We incorporate a variety of jewellery design techniques that ensure that every stone in our engagement rings receives the natural light it needs to sparkle.
Step #8: Shining, Buffing and Rhodium Plating
The final step in our engagement ring process is to polish, buff and shine the ring until it all but glows. If white gold is being used, then the ring is also given a coat of Rhodium plating.
FYI - What does a ring mould actually look like?
Conclusion
Now that we’ve answered the “Big Question” of how our team brings you beautiful engagement rings, let’s look at how we also make sure those rings are affordable and are the best value rings in Ireland.
One of the reasons our rings are such great value for money is because we keep the processes in designing captivating engagement rings in house. Many other jewellers outsource each step of the process, including several other steps we haven’t mentioned here.
This means that the cost of the engagement ring remains affordable while ensuring that our engagement rings are truly unique and not mass produced for a wide range of jewellers around Ireland.
Get in touch with our team for more information on our exquisite engagement rings.
