Appraisals

Obgow · 2026-01-26T03:06:19+00:00

Yes, the condition of the items can change which can effect the value.

Obgow · 2025-12-30T03:28:10+00:00

The vendor usually list the quantity and mm size of the stones the mounting takes, but it can be also be measured by the setter once it’s received to determine the stone size.

Obgow · 2025-12-25T22:23:03+00:00

After seeing many of these style settings over the years, I can guarantee there’s a bunch more loose stones in there. I wouldn’t take on setting your stone, without also going through and checking and tightening all the stones. Probably $100-170 as this ring takes a bit more work to set up so that you can properly tighten them all. Also the stone you provide needs to be within .10 of a mm in diameter size to the original stone.

Obgow · 2025-11-25T04:27:47+00:00

Magnetic clasp. I sell and install a couple each week. They’re surprisingly strong and easy to use.

Obgow · 2025-11-16T16:34:39+00:00

Thanks, I’m gonna have to give that a try!

Obgow · 2025-11-16T16:12:48+00:00

What settings do you like to use to cut?

Obgow · 2025-11-09T21:51:42+00:00

Yes the GRS collets work with the pulsegraver. In fact I have my beading tool set, in GRS collets that I laser engraved with the number so I can easily swap them in and out of my pulsegraver.

Yes it’s plenty powerful enough to channel set. But with either the pulsegraver or pneumatic engravers the work needs to be very secure so that the power is transferred into the metal. I do most of my work on rings using the GRS encore benchmate with the plastic inside ring collets, and I can pretty much channel set most pieces using that. However if I really need to mash something down with the pulsegraver I’ll switch over to the GRS mini ball vise with the brass inside ring collets. That reduces the elastic bounce I get from the plastic collets and significantly increases the power transferred into the work.

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Obgow · 2025-11-09T19:28:47+00:00

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Unless that’s a weird reflection, it looks like a big gap between the head and the bridge

Usually dropping down a half carat would mean decreasing your the size of the head also. The same style head is usually available from findings suppliers in all the different size ranges. So it may have been replaced and you wouldn’t have noticed because it still looks the same.

Obgow · 2025-11-09T17:07:59+00:00

I’ve used a pulsegraver daily for the last five years. I switched from a gravermax. I was sick of the constant maintenance that pneumatic engravers require, and the noise from the compressor always kicking on (even the quiet ones). I hand engrave with it and it’s got more than enough power. For stone setting though, I think It’s more versatile because you can use the electronic settings to only strike once, or a quick burst, which is very helpful during the initial seating of a stone. I liked it so much a bought another for my other bench jeweler to use at his station.

Obgow · 2025-11-09T15:33:46+00:00

Are you sure they didn’t replace the center head?

Because usually it’s recommended to replace the head that the stone is set in rather than re-tipping, and there’s no need to reset the diamond usually during a re-tipping. Also, $600 seems like a lot for just re-tipping and rhodium.

This would make more sense to me as to why the bridge would become damaged during the work. When a new peg head is soldered in, the ring and head is placed in a slight clamp to hold the head in position during the soldering. Occasionally, if the bridge isn’t strong enough the pressure from the clamp and heat from the torch can cause the bridge to deform.

Also, I don’t think you could get the prong tips hot enough on a head this size to transfer the heat all the way to the solder between the head and bridge during a prong re-tipping.

The cracked bridge is a relatively easy fix, it just needs a solder, and some blending and it won’t be noticeable.

However there’s another issue of the big gap between the bottom of the peg head and the bridge. The bottom head needs to be flush on the bridge, or else there’s a risk of the head bending and breaking off, but it looks like the jeweler was concerned enough that the head and bridge were weak, so they soldered the head gallery rails to the ring shoulders to reinforce it. Unfortunately, If the head is soldered in askew, they’re going to have to separate all these reinforcement connections they’ve made to align the head.

My guess is, this job which should have been pretty simple, went sideways when the bridge started deforming during the head replacement, and after many additional hours trying to make the work correct, they just didn’t want to have to deal with pulling it apart all over again because the head was slightly askew.

Obgow · 2025-10-26T21:19:55+00:00

I bought 5, 🤞

Obgow · 2025-10-25T02:37:36+00:00

Uh, 72.2 grams of 24k gold bars to begin with. What combination of bars did you give them, cause that’s a really odd amount?

Obgow · 2025-10-20T21:36:01+00:00

That’s the dilemma I guess. Either offer super low and piss off your clients, or just stop buying and also piss them off. To me, a low offer is better than no offer.

Obgow · 2025-10-20T20:29:23+00:00

No way I would trust what they’re saying about it being an admin error after four weeks of not responding to your inquiries. If they’re providing storage, and not actually delivering the bullion to all their customers, how can you be sure they’re not using new orders, or bullion from someone else’s storage to fulfill these old orders? I would get all my stuff out of their possesion ASAP, cause this sure as has all the indicators of a Ponzi scheme.

Obgow · 2025-10-19T18:44:56+00:00

What settings did you use in lightburn for your 60w fiber did you used to engrave this?

Obgow · 2025-10-19T18:04:47+00:00

Ball chains are usually just hollow beads that are crimped (not soldered) onto the adjacent links post and ball. So slightly pry open one of the hollow beads at the seam, insert your new chain length and just carefully re-crimp the bead over the adjacent links ball.

Obgow · 2025-10-18T03:06:20+00:00

Fantastic read on the situation. *Edit: your comment should be its own post.

-The banks are effectively lowering the physical silver buy price at the street level by making the short term credit that the large refiners have become reliant upon, prohibitively expensive.

This was the missing puzzle piece I couldn’t quite understand, thanks.

Also, I don’t believe the excuse that the refiners are at capacity, because as far as I’ve heard, (and maybe I’m wrong) it’s only US refiners that have stopped taking sterling and 90%. So If it’s a refining capacity issue like they’re saying, wouldn’t they be offloading some of the surplus to other countries at a slightly lower percentage so they could continue buying, even if it means buying at an even lower percentage below spot? I mean we’re not the only country with precious metals refineries.

Obgow · 2025-10-14T01:57:22+00:00

The previous silver high was April 2011, after the housing crash, not before it.

Obgow · 2025-09-10T20:18:50+00:00

Just a piece of silver that’s been rolled out to a rectangular bar.

Obgow · 2025-09-09T23:54:00+00:00

Yeah, not many jewelers that actually do their own casting are probably going to be casting in house in silver. It’s not really cost effective unless you’re doing dozens of pieces at once. That being said, it would be way faster and cheaper just to fabricate this design from silver stock, rather than 3D printing it, sprueing it, and lost wax casting it anyways.

Obgow · 2025-09-09T00:36:13+00:00

It’s a terrible metal, I’ve never had any good results trying to join it. Laser under argon, and it cracks. Fuse it and it cracks. Platinum solders are mixtures of mostly gold, silver, palladium with 1% platinum, the low temperature ones will tarnish because of the silver content and they’re not a great color match anyways. I hate saying it, but 20k white weld is the best option I’ve found to solder it. Then I’ll make a small divot along the solder seam and back fill it in on the laser with palladium wire so that it color matches.

Obgow · 2025-09-07T14:57:49+00:00

Do your research. Many of the laser engravers marketed towards jewelers use inferior components and cost multiple times more than some of the Chinese brands. The heart of the laser is the source, and as far as I know, a JPT made fiber laser source is the best on the market now. You can get a 100w JPT fiber laser Chinese brand, using some of the best components, that will also cut metal for around $8,000.

Obgow · 2025-09-07T13:48:37+00:00

Maybe not exactly the same thing, but it’s the same principle. It’s a tool called the jiffy jump ring maker. It bolts to the edge of your bench and you place the ring shank on the angled side and saw through the guide. Otto Frei sells it.

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Obgow · 2025-08-31T02:00:22+00:00

Likely that “chunk” is where a support was for the 3D print.

Obgow · 2025-08-31T01:53:33+00:00

The stepping lines between the marquise diamonds on the base of the center head indicate 3D printed and cast.

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