Making a Ring Bezel for Stones

Cut stones add sparkle to a ring. With the ability to fire stones in metal clay, you can take advantage of a variety of unique bezel and setting designs. The idea is simply to surround the stone with clay to hold it in place. Be sure to choose stones that can be fired at high temperatures.

Materials Youll Need for a stoNe riNg:

Art Clay Silver Slow-Dry Basic metal clay tools (see pages 1618) Teflon paper, or HattieS Patties ringforming strip Cellophane tape One 6mm cubic zirconia stone Ring mandrel Mallet

Wrap a strip of nonstick paper around a ring mandrel at a place on the

mandrel that is two sizes larger than your desired finished size. Secure the paper with a small piece of cellophane tape. Make a band ring by rolling out a sheet of clay that is five playing cards thick. Cut a strip in your desired width to form the ring band and wrap it around the mandrel. Cut through the overlapped layers of clay at an angle as shown. Remove the excess clay. Join the seam with a clay shaper tool to blend the clay ends together.

2 3

After you have joined the band at the seam, attach a ball of clay over

the seam with slip and water.

Push a cubic zirconia stone into the ball of clay until the girdle of the

stone is just below the surface of the clay. Add more slip at the attachment and fix

94 | The Art of Metal Clay

imperfections as the ring dries, if needed. Let the ring dry until bone-dry. Fire the ring by kiln or torch. Remember to cool a ring containing a stone slowly. To be extra safe, leave the kiln door shut until cool, or air-cool if using a torch.
Birthstone rings are a fun project to make, and there are a variety of colorful lab-grown stones from which to choose.

Rings | 95

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