I have had personally perhaps five custom orders for pave work on a
newly commissioned design in 25 + years- it’s not very current,
clients seem to prefer channel set stones around a ring or bordering
a piece because they aren’t in general fond of round brilliants,
provided the client comes in knowing what stone shape they want
incorporated into what will usually be a gift or heirloom. Those that
want, let’s say a salamander covered in stones can afford to go buy a
piece designed in the 1890’s by someone working for Cartier and still
being reproduced to date! I can pave set stones with precision, and
artistically if I am asked to do it. If I am designing a one off
piece rarely do I consider it unless I have stones that would be
maximized if sold in one piece, or if the piece needs an area covered
with stones - the shape of the stone is irrelevant as far as artistic
sensibilities go, whereas colour is far more important to me. I see
so much expensive “junk” jewelry being sold on the retail market
composed of tiny squares of very imperfect diamond material that
appears sparkly and is manufactured to appear pave set when it is
actually made by a system of internal wires holding them together
tightly, though not a channel setting, with a small surface “grid” of
metal appearing to be the actual setting. It is hell to repair as
only when one gets into the job you realize these are very thin
slices of diamond, perhaps with a bevel ground around each sliver’s
edges for a ‘bling’ effect. In fact I refuse to do repairs on these
having to have replaced a piece because of the entirely deceptive and
hidden internal structure and condition of these diamond “bits”. Is
that art jewelry- no. Is it in style, yes - as are sports stars and
hip-hop musicians and their followers buying balls of what is sold
to them as " real black diamonds" with evenly spaced "coloured"
diamonds punctuating each ball- some going as far as appearing like
basketballs, golf balls or simply approx. 7mm round beads. Artistic -
no. In fashion with certain groups of young people showing off wealth
obtained by questionable means, yes, largely. Made by CAD/CAM
process, yes. Made in China, yes. Over three thousand dollars to
start 9 having one to three balls or beads on a bracelet), yes and up
to twenty K, retail for a full ten or 12 beads with diamonds that are
cheap, irradiated and wholesaleing at about $1. 10 USD or less each,
with the coloured accent stones also irradiated, at about 3. 00 or
less each. the retail mark up astounding over the cost of mass
production. Would they buy real art jewelry with traditional pave
work? Not likely, as when I have told them I can make something with
non-irradiated stones, that is unique, and will appear at least as
totally covered as these mass produced ball thingy-s, and their
design will be something no one else has- in the 8 or so years these
things have been showing up and requested only one person ( a highly
successful “rap musician” from New Orleans with plenty of excess
cash) decided to have a tattoo of his copied and pave’d. All the
others wanted the same thing(s) ordered. So I think this is a good
illustration of those that can afford artistic handmade jewelry may
buy pave’d work but it is not the trend with any group of clients.
Older people see pave work as limited, and/ or limiting unless you
take the time to explain the processes you are capable of and the
potential it has for producing one-of-a-kind design work. Most
people don’t walk in thinking of a design they want to have
fabricated being even 50% pave work, but more modern symbols, if not
based on ancient ethnic ( i. e. celtic, or geo-based tribal or
mythological ‘elven’ or runic design concepts ), with coloured stones
and perhaps fancy diamond colours, and largely not round brilliant
stones- Many, provided they have considered the metal want a white
metal or a coloured gold or combination of coloured golds. I don’t
like white gold and explain that paying for nickel is in my opinion a
rip-off, and only in certain situations is it appropriate when a part
for a catch or clasp has to be made, or if for a repair. Is this
artistic? In my opinion yes. Is it art jewelry that is based on
precision bench work, ? Yes… I have to translate a concept into
something the average consumer doesn’t know, concisely, clearly and
that rationalizes the costs involved as quickly as possible that
leaves them with a feeling that they can trust that the final (
bench) product will not only meet their expectations but surpass the
stuff in retailer’s cases that are mass produced and marketed by a
variety of media to express a sentiment, that together we can design
but not copy ! Precision is in a professional presentation of the
finished work based on a design the client has either made a
preliminary sketch of before seeking the goldsmith/jeweler to execute
it, and finalised in that person perhaps having to take their work
and explain cleaning up the construction of what they have in mind to
result in a sound piece that will last generations. I think it is all
about the capacity one has to hand fabricate anything put before him
or her and to know all aspects of the processes involved that make
calling oneself a professional jeweler ( or metalsmith or goldsmith)
not only a valid representation of the craft and science but more
weighted, the artistic sensibility and the natural precision
involved in doing things to one’s highest standards.
. If a student wants to learn pave setting we work on bead setting
first then the student progress to laying out a design with the
number of stones he or she has to work with to cover ‘x’ amount of
whichever metal or alloy desired. I give the student guidelines to
try and remain within, that will allow for the stones to appear as
though they are practically touching each other using hand raised
beads, or sometimes a stylised prong of sorts so that the stones can
be then guaranteed for a lifetime of “normal” wear. In
conceptualising the design many decisions must be made as to the way
the paved portion of the work will interact with the rest of the
design (i. e. - will the pave work be a dapped plate then soldered
onto another component or done on a plate that will be held by a
plain bezel if thin or decorated bezel if the stones are sizable into
a ring with undercut/ or fully azured shank to allow the maximum of
light to enter the stones from the pierced bezel on all sides or is a
flat or slightly curved plate that is finished to appear without
delineation into the larger design the best approach). All these
lessons require a balance of precision and artistry that can’t be
perfected in doing it once. a superior knowledge of the tools
available, how to use and maintain them, and adding the things that
one needs that compliment his or her work is most often overlooked
in most teaching situations. I have seen over and over a school or
class will have a set list of basic tools and the lessons center
around project based learning, rather than around learning the tools
and materials at one’s disposal and what is best to choose for the
designs one dreams up and wants to translate to a wearable piece that
won’t weigh down clothing or body parts, is sound and won’t fall
apart after a few wears, and that can command prices consistent with
one’s closest competition for a given market. Specific to pave work- I
find it best and most quickly executed with the assistance of
Foredom’s All-Set system. I can measure, remeasure, and measure again
a stone’s angle, the angle of a channel or prong to receive the stone
or stones, and in the long run I tell those students ( and
colleagues) who do pave work, channel setting and that are "worried"
about perfection in their pieces to the extent possible when made
completely by hand, to invest in this tooling. It actually saves at
least 2/3 of the time setting up the work when channel setting hand
cut stones, and is faster still with machine cut material. I can get
prongs even but not to the degree of precision I can when using the
Foredom system. So does using an asisstive technology detract from
the artistry or hand fabricated nature of a design? Not in the least.
Should schools hire teachers or instructors that have limited
specialties or are not able to do any operation that may be required
to fabricate ANY piece of jewellery? in my opinion no. But their work
and lesson plan should speak volumes about that individual’s skills.
For example many many years ago i had an instructor that said to get
colour onto a piece of jewelry using epoxies were best over
enameling them- I did not agree then and further still don’t agree,
but that instructor did not know how to enamel and didn’t want to
risk the metal ( which was then less than 200 an oz. for gold). I am
always of the opinion that stones and glass can be removed and metal
reclaimed, so there is never a risk in experimenting. In fact I see
metal much like paper in that it can be crumpled up and thrown into a
bin and recycled. But i know that enameling on a sheet of platinum
for certain techniques in enamel is a trade secret. I also agree that
a slight tool mark I may have missed shows it is handmade, or
embedding my hall or assay mark a bit deeper on one piece over
another is equally acceptable. But mostly I have come to realise
that beginning students, in order to become good artisans, if not the
best they can be, must have a thorough foundation in tools and
materials before they design anything or use any precious metals. Far
too many instructors focus their students on completing a project (or
two) in a semester rather than grading them on a set of skills
acquired in the same period - project oriented learning vs. starting
from the most basic lessons- knowing the tools and consumables
available intimately and which are necessary for what one’s art
dictates they will need. Yes, I can expect to spend more time with
each new student when they are all wanting to make entirely different
pieces based on processes that range from repousse to castings to
stone setting, ( the only thing I don’t allow beginning students to
do in my studio is use the die forming equipment) - so we all observe
basic direct casting techniques and the student interested can then
develop into other casting methods- but everyone will know the most
ancient hand fabricated method of casting using cuttlebone, and
everyone will then know how to make their own chasing punches, temper
metal and quench it, while that student may work on many more
punches, and everyone will learn equations for measuring the amount
of metal needed to meet a bezel or box setting’s requirement, and
then how to close the setting cleanly, while that student may go on
to specialise in flush settings, or develop some signature style like
Todd Reed’s setting of raw diamonds as an example…Nonetheless, they
all learn the very basics and develop their own styles and artistry
with metal, and maybe stone or found objects or avant garde materials
and all learn a bit about business as well. They are all working
together in learning the skills a jeweler must at least be familiar
with and how to correct a problem should it arise, or when it’s best
to toss a piece into a drawer and start over…That I think is the
difference in precision and art- knowing how to attain precision (
through a good foundation in tools and processes) and when you have
made what you individually consider to be your best art.
Whether you work as a bench jeweler or not is a personal decision,
or may be part of a prescribed programme as an apprentice, or
journeyman but knowing when you have reached the point of saturation
in an apprenticeship is part of knowing when a programme no longer
serves your needs because you are simply repeating the same old same
old day in day out without reward or personal gain. Then one can go
on with confidence in the knowledge gained and perhaps add to it
(over the rest of the time the person is interested in the trade),
but has reached a point where a livelihood can be made with ease at a
wide array of jobs or in business for oneself…rer