Angloplat competition part 2

There is a plant with a little white flower in my garden which I thought was perfect for this project.

After shaping the ring, I tried to grind the top cavity for the inlay with a ball burr on the pendant motor. Two ball burrs later, I realised that actually chisels are the right tool for the job.

I set up the ring in my pitch bowl and started carving the cavity, about 1mm deep. I undercut the side walls and sanded the small metal burrs off in preparation for the platinum.

Using masking tape and a pencil, I marked the size and shape of the cavity, sticking it onto a piece of platinum I had rolled to 1.3mm thick. I cut out the shape and carved a small recess into the back of the platinum to increase the surface area so when I hammer it down it spreads further into the undercut.

 Next up was drawing the flower and stem, carving the background away and using a punch to flatten and texture it.

Carving the petals and stem to a formed and bright finish.

Lastly, I shaped little scallops into the damascus rim and finish sanded it to 800.
I used ferric chloride to etch the damascus to show it's patterned nature. The ferric chloride has no effect on the platinum.

My thanks to Dewet Vanzyl for providing me with the damascus and Tiaan Burger for technical information during the process, as well as Angloplat for providing the platinum and the platform.

The final product: