First a little backgroung: A couple came in with a wedding set. Put them together so they don't come apart. Simple, take it to most jewelry stores and they put a little solder inside, heat, and call it a day. In the studio, we just do things differently. Instead of soldering, we laser weld. Soldering involves using a metal, most often not even the same metal as the original ring (also usually very toxic! containing lead, cadmium, arsenic or a whole host of other yuck and not containing any gold or platinum) that melts at a lower temperature in between the rings which holds them together. This bond is usually around 40-50% strong as the original metal. Laser welding is done by focusing a beam of energy to create a pinpoint weld. The metal from the two rings instantly melts together and fuses them. This creates a bond that is 95% strong as the original metal!
This strength is especially important for a wedding set that gets worn every day, as there are the constant mechanical forces of touching things, gripping, bumping hands against furniture, squeezing the steering wheel, and everything else we do with our hands.
Okay, on to the amazed part. The quality of the weld Dallae did with the laser is some of the finest I have ever seen. Looking inside, I can't even tell that there were two rings to begin with. Outside, the rings look held together by magic. Perfectly smooth, not a spot or even a line. The rings were not even designed to be fit together, and were different sizes! Yet she achieved a grace and elegance between the balance of the two rings with the cleanest joining, inside and out.
It is craftsmanship such as this that makes me proud of my jewelers, and proud of the studio. There is no delineation between an intricate custom hand fabricated job and a simple repair, the integrity is total. Nothing is rushed or pushed through, there is no second rate or good enough; every piece is given all that is in our hearts and abilities.
With Everything,
Justinder
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