3) Use a thin piece of wire around the inside the bezel so that
stone's edges sit on the wire. Drawback: might be able to see the
wire through the stone.
Hi Jason, This might be your best bet. Most likely the optics of the
curvture of the cab will prevent the supporting ring from being seen.
You can make it out of square wire (sizing stock?), and chamfer a
bevel inward on the top. This will help alleviate the pressure point
on the inner square corner where it makes contact with the curvature
on the bottom of the cab.
Another alternative, if you’re not committed to totally fabricating
the rings, is to apply wax to the back of the stone to provide the
proper seat, and cast the seat. Two concerns about the emerald,
though: be careful of heat if you’re applying melted wax (use
sheet?), and a cast white gold bezel will be tough to set… and
emerald is fragile. A high carat yellow gold bezel would be less
dangerous, even if the backing plate is white gold.
22k white will appear yellower than 18k because there is a higher
percentage gold content and less alloying metal to “dilute” it.
Hope this helps!
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans’ Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com
http://www.CarolinaArtisans.com
Hi Jason, I ,too,am learning about jewelry making, so I can’t offer
any expert advice on setting an emerald but I can give you advice
from experience in regards to wearing a wedding ring with a cabachon
emerald:
My husband and I both carved the waxes for our rings and I chose a
cabachon emerald. That was 18 years ago. Because emeralds are so
soft they do not stand up, in my opinion to the kind of wear a ring
gets when you wear it all the time - like a wedding ring. My emerald
is a sorry looking stone - all chipped and scratched. I’m saving up
for a hard stone to replace it.
Perhaps this advice is not general and someone with more experience
might offer different advice.
Good Luck!
Donna
Hello Jason, Your number 3 solution may be the best. It would be
highly unlikely that the wire would be seen through the gem,
especially as it is just below the girdle. Experienced jewellers do
this all the time, knowing that the wire bearing won’t show.
It may be food for thought to know that I often accent the feature
of transparency in cabachon and shallow facet-cuts by working a
design or setting a pattern of small diamonds beneath the gem.
Perhaps your and your fiancee’s initials could be intertwined to make
an attractive featureas well as protect the back of the emerald -
especially if you want it to be set as low as possible.
You may have a little difficulty getting a 22ct white gold. Why not
use platinum? Congratulations on your impending nuptials!
Rex Steele Merten
will there be any other filling material to lift up the stone? If so
have you thought about putting a piece of foil behind the stone?
Maybe use foil that is green and will add to the stones beauty. Go to
a florist shop, they usually have alot of different colour foils.