| Judging
Craftsmanship
Superior Craftsmanship
A
mounting is exceptionally well-made if: The metal looks perfectly
smooth through a ten-power magnifier. Rarely can one find
a cast mounting that under ten-power magnification does not
show at least one or two tiny pits or pores (a condition called
porosity)
Porosity
can result from cooling the ring too slowly, from casting
too many rings together, from using either remelted or the
wrong quality gold alloys, or from not maintaining consistent
and proper temperatures in the mold and the metal. The list
of reasons for porosity can go on, which is why most cast
jewelry has at least a trace of porosity. As long as it isn't
obvious, there's no need to worry about microscopic porosity.
One way of avoiding porosity is to buy a die-struck mounting,
made of metal parts mechanically punched out of sheet metal.
But even then, porosity may be present around its solder joints.
Under
ten-power magnification all parts of the mounting look symmetrical,
if they are, intended to look that way.The metal is a high
quality alloy (metal mixture) and has not been remelted too
many times. There is no easy way for a layperson to determine
this. Jewelers and setters 'A-III suspect a metal problem
if it seems too weak or brittle when they work with it. Creating
an ideal alloy is an art. It requires an in-depth knowledge
of metallurgy as well as a great deal of experience.
Intricate
designs may have been tastefully carved in the mounting. Such
work will involve extra labor cost.
The diamonds have been exceptionally well-picked if.
The height, width, and length measurements of the diamonds
are the same where they are intended to look the same. Diamonds
of exactly the same size are often impossible to find. Consequently,
when large diamonds or several small diamonds have to be matched
for size, it is normal for their measurements to differ by
a couple hundredths of a millimeter.
The table size, the crown height, the pavilion depth, and
the girdle thickness of the diamonds are the same. A group
of diamonds meeting these standards would be so difficult
to find that you should be amazed if you come across them.
Under ten-power magnification the diamonds appear to have
the same color and clarity grades. Normally, one has to be
content with diamonds of just similar quality.
Normal
for several
Patterns
are intentionally
Ring
that meets
Die-struck
mounting
Aesthetically
pleasing appearance
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