Bezel setting pear cabachon topaz

All, I’ve been learning how to make metal based jewellery for a short
time, and have just started to do some basic stone setting. I’ve
been bezel setting round and oval cabachons, with a semi-sucessful
attempt at bezel setting a princess cut CZ.

Now to my question. I’m about to make my first attempt at bezel
setting a pear shaped cabachon. Looking through past posts there
has been talk of prong setting pear stones, where the prong on the
point is pushed first. Is this the same as a cabachon? Should I
start pushing the metal over the point first, or start on the sides
? What should I be careful of ( breaking the tip of the stone etc )
and how do I avoid these problems ???

Any help is gratefully received.

Hi, Rebecca- Starting at the point is best. Push the bezel over at
the point, then push the bezel in at the bottom of the stone, then
the sides, then work the in-between stuff. When bezel-setting a
stone with sharp angles, it is best, once the bezel has been pushed
over the point, to work the slack in the bezel away from the point.
In other words, you would put your burnisher at the side of the
stone adjacent to the point, and slide it away from the point, back
towards the body of the stone.

The reason that you want to start at the point, and then work the
slack away from the point, is that you want to avoid ending up with
crinkles and folds at the point. It’s easier for the bezel to absorb
slack in the long, straight or gently curved sections.

Lee Einer

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