Cocktail party

Warning - these super-sizers by Jenny and James Stevenson may cause serious envy!

If you like your jewellery to have a touch of decadence and to make an impact, these fabulous statement rings are just the thing. Made from sculpting Vintaj findings and embellishing with sparkling rivoli stones they are the ideal way to dress up your look and stand out from the crowd!

Parts of a ring

Head/setting – the setting which holds the rivoli.

Claw - the prongs holding the rivoli in place.

Shoulder - where the head sits, between the shank and the setting.

Band/shank - the section which goes over the finger

Small Ring

1. Cut seven, 15cm lengths of copper 0.5mm wire, and bend each neatly in half, to resemble an equal length kirby grip. Thread the loop end of one through the hole on the front of a heart pendant and bend the loop slightly upwards using round-nosed pliers, so that it sits at the top of the heart. Pass both ends of the wire through the loop and pull tight with chainnosed pliers. Prepare a total of five hearts in this way, and place to one side.
2. To make the ring shank, bend a diamond trellis filigree around a ring mandrel or suitably sized round object until it is the right size for your finger. You may want to curl the ends slightly with round-nosed pliers if you find that they poke out too far. Using wire cutters, carefully cut the loop off a filigree star drop so that all the points match.
3. Place a 14mm rivoli in the centre of the filigree, and using your fingers, firmly push the claws of the star upwards so that they gently cup the edges of the stone. Remove the stone from the star and thread both ends of a length of wire though two of the holes at the base. Repeat with another length of wire through two of the holes directly facing the first length of wire. Pull all four ends of wire taut.
4. Replace the rivoli in the filigree star and bend over the claws of the star to hold the stone firmly in position. To attach the ring setting to the shank, align each of the ends of wire from the setting with each side of the ‘cross’ on the diamond filigree shank, and pull through to the other side so that both parts sit snugly together.
5. Using chain-nosed pliers, pull two pieces of wire over the side of the shank and wrap each length firmly around the base of the setting, one clockwise and one anticlockwise. Repeat for the other two lengths of wire at the bottom and firmly press the ends in against the shoulder (where the setting joins the shank).
6. Take one of the wired hearts and with the front facing upwards, thread the left-hand wire though a gap between a pair of the claws, and behind the nearest claw. Bend upwards out of the way. Pass the other piece of wire behind the nearest claw and again bend upwards. Repeat for each heart so that all of the gaps between claws now contain hearts.
7. Starting with any length of wire standing up against the left-hand side of a claw, pull it firmly down whilst positioning the heart in the centre of the gap. Wrap the wire firmly in a clockwise direction around the shoulders, and press in with chain-nosed pliers. Repeat for each wire standing in this position.
8. Starting with any length of wire standing up against the right-hand side of a claw, pull it firmly down and wrap in an anticlockwise direction around the shoulders, and press in with chainnosed pliers. Repeat for each wire standing in this position. To further secure, press any stray ends in against the ring shoulders.