This summer I have the opportunity to work with wisnosky jewelers in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. I’m working forty hours a week and I’m tired but it’s so worth the experience! I’m learning things that can only be taught in the field of the jewelry business. I learned how to make the ring in the featured image by fabrication. Fabrication is building the ring piece by piece instead of casting it.

I learned how to make the shank and prong setting. Once they were completed I made galleries which are the bridge like pieces of metal attached to the setting and shank. Galleries can later have stones set in them or a design cut into the metal. The hardest part was cutting the niches into the tiny prongs to hold the cz diamond. Cz stands for cubic zirconium which is a fancy name for a man made diamond. I then learned how to set the stone and file the prongs to look clean. The final step was to buff and polish the ring to get rid of any file marks or scratches. I feel like I have learned a lot so far and I can’t wait to learn more this summer!