For most simple designs, you should forge the ring and solder it closed instead of casting. Casting would be more appropriate for detailed designs that you don't have time to carve or hammer out.
Yes, it's both easier and gives a better end result (unless you have good equipment and technique for casting). That's what we did for ours, and we're happy with the result. About 600€ total for two rings including the 6 grammes of gold and the tools (and a few silver coins for practicing). Also, we went for 21k because it's hard enough and easy to get in gold coins (thus, no VAT and very small premium on the price of gold).
I wrote an account (in French) here: https://seos.fr/blog/20240426.or.html but it's more for future reference for myself and for the friends who knew about it than anything else.
Since OP likes symbolism, it's worth keeping in mind that wedding rings are never supposed to have a seam - they're symbolizing, amongst other things, eternity. Casting's the way to go (if that matters to you)
A properly soldered ring with the right treatment will not have a seam. On the other hand, castings can easily end up with imperfections and porosity, especially in the hands of an amateur with limited equipment.
When you talk about symbolism, it really doesn't matter if you can see the solder seam. Yes, of course a good jeweler doesn't leave visible seams. (Heck, a mediocre one doesn't either)
But the message of a cast ring is "it never had a beginning or an end. It's forever"
And if you read OPs post, they care about symbolism.
Yeah, hindsight is 20/20. As my blog post mentions at the end, I had no trouble forging a gold ring. Though instead of using solder, I melted the ends together as I wanted the entire ring to remain pure gold.
Had I wanted a faceted hammered look from the start, I probably would have skipped the casting step entirely.
I'm surprised you were able to fuse the gold. In any case, you would use a tiny amount of gold solder to make the ring, perhaps before finishing the hammering.
Also, pure gold is commonly considered too soft for jewelry. It will scratch and ding easily. You should use 22k or lower, with the balance being copper and/or silver. You can easily buy a great alloy so I wouldn't attempt to make one myself, unless the financial savings were amazing.
Yeah it took a while to melt the ends together. I think maybe six attempts. I should have punched a hole in the gold bar, then shaped the ring from there.
I know that pure gold is much softer than alloys, but the color is unique and it's not too hard to re-hammer the surface to get rid of scratches.
It depends on how smooth you want the finish to be. A classic smooth or finely textured finish can't be re-hammered that easily, and could not be restored without significant polishing. Jewelers even worry about scratches on their tools creating more work for them. The color of 24k is a little more yellow than 22k, but I would personally rather have more durability. Gold is much heavier than silver or copper as well, so you can make a LOT more jewelry by going to a lower purity like 18k. If you're making thin jewelry, 24k is just too soft. I found out how soft it is the hard way when I dropped a 24k coin about 4 feet and put a solid quarter inch dent in it. That probably knocked $200-300 off its value lol
Ah, that makes sense. I would definitely not do 24k gold for anything with a smooth or regular texture. I was curious how durable my gold ring was, so gave it bit of a torture test. I did some weight lifting with it, grabbed some knurled pull-up bars, etc. I took it to sandy beaches, snorkeling, etc. I deliberately banged it against stuff while I was wearing it. Although it got a few good scratches, the weight was exactly the same afterwards: 24.2 grams. A few minutes with a hammer made it good as new. It seems like the metal is soft, but unlikely to separate from itself.
My condolences about the gold coin. I've made similar mistakes. The most frustrating bit for me isn't the damage itself, but the fact that every time you look at the thing, you're reminded of the time you messed up.
I wasn't sure if centrifugal casting would solve the issue with oxygen bubbles, and since I already had a vacuum pump, I figured I'd try vacuum casting. The main issue was that I had problems getting a good seal because I made the device myself instead of buying a vacuum casting machine. Also I could have skipped the issue of inconsistent metal temperatures by replacing my torch with an electric melting furnace.
