The use of lasers for the production of jewellery and other fine objects is in itself not uncommon. What can now be revealed, however, is the contribution made by Rofin in the creation of the “world’s most expensive piece of art”.

Damien Hirst’s diamond-encrusted skull officially became the world’s most expensive piece of contemporary art, after it was bought in August 2007 £50 million. The skull was created for the artist by Bentley & Skinner of Bond Street, using over 8,600 of the world’s most perfect, flawless diamonds and more than 2,100 grams of platinum.

Technology, innovation and skill

An original 18th century skull was used to make a cast before 32 individual platinum plates were created and joined together using a Rofin StarWeld Performance laser welding system.

The design and configuration of the StarWeld laser allowed the skill and innovation of the craftsman to be enhanced by the precision joining technology of the laser. Individual components are held underneath the laser beam, with the precise location of the laser weld accurately viewed through a microscope, thus ensuring accurate and perfect welds each time.

The welding process was repeated until all of the 32 plates were joined, forming the setting piece for the diamonds.

Manual laser welding allows platinum, and other precious metals such as gold; silver; stainless steel; and titanium to be joined together without the use of soldering. A laser weld is strong and pure, even in areas where it would be hard to gain access using other joining techniques. More often than not, if you can see the joint you can weld it and the resultant joins have superior strength when compared with those produced by conventional welding and brazing techniques.

StarWeld Performance is renowned as a manual laser welding unit with more than 4,500 systems installed worldwide. It has also become the laser of choice for precious metal welding in jewellery workshops and dental laboratories within the United Kingdom.

Using StarWeld, seam welds of less than 100 microns can be achieved, and materials as thin as 10 microns or wires of 20 microns in diameter can be processed.

Learning to use the laser is quick and easy, and when welding platinum excellent results are achieved with low power and without oxidisation – so there is normally no additional finishing required. Adjusting the spot size and laser parameters is easy using joysticks inside the welder.

The workpiece is viewed using a stereo microscope, with the position of the laser weld being precisely set using a fine cross hair. Laser firing is initiated using a remote footswitch, allowing the hands to remain free to position the part in the weld area. Rofin offers a complete range of lasers including CO2, YAG, Vandate and Fibre Lasers, and can provide solutions for laser cutting and marking applications.

www.rofin.co.uk