Knox Jewelers Journal

Minneapolis Minnesota Jeweler Specializing in Custom Design and Unique Engagement Rings.

Unique Wedding Rings and Engagement Bands

We receive calls and emails from around the world inquiring about our unique wedding band designs. The designs that generate the most inquires tend to be wider than average designs. Some have center stones, others do not… but they are all singularly unique in their design and are meticulously and expertly hand crafted from the ground up. We feel these two facts combined help our rings (especially signature designs such as these) stand out from more conventional wedding and engagement ring styles. In fact, many of these rings would translate well as a right hand ring or anniversary band.

We wanted to have an article in our journal that featured these designs along with a little info about each ring. Please note that the images are linked (when possible) to additional photos/videos of the design.

Let’s start with a design that features an Asscher cut center diamond along with sky blue sapphires set in the filigree between the two diamond pave set outside rails of the ring.

Asscher cut center diamond with sky blue sapphires in hand made filigree with diamond micro pave rails

Asscher cut center diamond in a custom design featuring sky blue sapphires in hand made filigree, all framed beautifully by diamond micro pave rails

Here are other versions of this design:

Shown with a princess cut center diamond and deeper blue sapphires set in hand made filigree..

Shown with a radiant cut center diamond and rich green natural emeralds set in hand made filigree..

Shown with all diamonds, rails are both hand cut micro pave, diamonds are also set in hand made filigree.

The next design was a real labor of love for our artisans and we think this fact ’shines through’ in the beautifully intricate detailing of the ring design.

: Caledonia

Since our original “Caledonia” design was created we’ve had a few custom versions made with center stones. Here they are…

Caledonia with 1.00 carat round brilliant

Caledonia with 3.60 carat blue cushion cut sapphire

Caledonia with 1.15 carat emerald cut green tourmaline

Here are two versions of our Dolce design. A very unique wedding band design, set with fancy colored diamonds in two tone metal to accentuate the diamond color.

Here is “Dolce” set up with fancy yellow diamonds in 18k Yellow Gold…

Here is Dolce set up with fancy pink diamonds in 14k Rose Gold…

This is another wide wedding ring design with an open pattern flower, leaf and vine motif.

: Unique wedding ring with flower, leaf and vine motif

Here is our “North Star” Design… A very vintage style engagement ring when set up with a center diamond. Or can be used as an engagement or anniversary band (right hand band).

“North Star” with a low set center diamond…

Our Original “North Star” Band…

Allamanda features a flowing leaf and vine pattern. Set with several smaller round diamonds, this ring would also make a lovely right hand ring.

: Allamanda

The following band was a big favorite when it came through the shop. The interplay of the deep blue sapphire with the bright white of this polished band makes for a stunning contrast. Similar to Allamanda, this features an organic leaf pattern.

The ring below was created using 18kt white gold and 18k yellow gold. To truly appreciate the craftsmanship on this ring, click on the photo to see other views, as well as a video.

: Two-tone Diamond Lace band

Sapphire and Diamond Leaf Band

Tags: anniversary band, filigree, hand engraved, Rings, Unique, Wedding ring | Categories: Unique Wedding Rings

Hand Engraved Ring Designs

Knox Hand Engraved Ring Designs

Hand engraving on jewelry and other metal objects is a very specialized art form in and of itself and when skillfully placed on an already high quality ring, can make for an absolutely unique and heirloom quality piece of jewelry.

The actual engraving is done with an extremely sharp tool called a graver. The graver is used to carefully carve a pattern or design into the metal, leaving no room for error. The artisan that does the hand engraving will have various sizes, shapes, and angles of gravers that they use for different effects/designs. The cutting into the metal with the graver is often (but not always) facilitated by small hand held pneumatic devices that are essentially small pneumatic hammers.

What is Cast in Place engraving or CAD-CAM engraving?

It is important to differentiate between actual hand engraving and the much more commonly found cast in place engraving or CAD-CAM engraving in which a design or pattern is placed in the wax or prototype of the item being cast to give the look or effect of hand engraving.

Here are a few examples of cast in place engraving or CAD-CAM engraving.

Cast in place faux engraving #1
Example #1 of cast in place ‘engraving’

Cast in place faux engraving #2
Example #2 of cast in place ‘engraving’

Cast in place faux engraving #3
Example #3 of cast in place ‘engraving’

Is it possible to tell the difference between hand engraving and cast in place engraving?

The quick answer is no, a novice may not always be able to tell the difference.

While even a novice may be able to tell the difference between extreme examples from both methods, (the example photos used here are classic examples of the representative methods) please note that there will be many examples from both methods that may be virtually indistinguishable from each other when looking at merely photos, especially to a novice.

That said, the predominant indication of cast in place/faux engraving will be a ’smoothed out’ or ‘polished down’ look to the detailing in the pattern as opposed to a much sharper or crisper pattern in hand engraved designs.

Here are a few examples of actual ‘Hand engraved’ designs. Notice the sharpness and crispness of the detailing in the patterns.

Knox Seville Hand Engraved Ring
Example #1 of a hand engraved design