Robert
From where I sit, there is a total lack of training in “grinding gravers”!
I’m as of now, going to write and with photo’s, the ‘correct’ way to grind these to shape. This process is so basic and no expensive machinery is required!
Regards to everyone on Ganoksin!
I’m Gerry, On my iPhone!
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Thank you for asking these questions, they are things I have been wondering about too.
Nancy Arnold
Hi,
Throwing’ a couple cents worth in.
Somewhat mimicking Phil’s comments, results are a function of practice (add talent and an eye for detail). What Gerry brings to the table is the lifetime devoted to creating a result that a client will pay for. Setting can be very lucrative if you have skill and speed, however there are no rules.
Gerry is generous in sharing his approach to setting, it’s not easy to find someone to teach, let alone articulate all the little nuances of preparing a seat, shaping a graver and the myriad of steps taken to set a stone.
If one is following Gerry’s tutorials and not getting a result, the missing component will inevitably be practice. It takes years and thousands of stones set to become truly proficient at setting. Again, there are no rules, just common sense use of the tools and a clear vision of the finished product.
The other critical component is observation. Go to see (with your loupe) estate pieces in your area, in particular look for Cartier, Tiffany & Van Cleefs pieces. Look at the inside as well as the prong work and let it sink in. It’s not that one will immediately get there, but at least the standards of excellence will start to become readily available in you mind.
Gerry is a gift to all who want to move forward with a skill set that is very challenging to perfect.
Practice
practice
practice…
Thanks,
Jim
Hear Hear!
So sorry for the lo-ong delay, I was ankle-deep in writing these past few
days.
Here is my favourite “Flat Graver”, it can do things that no other tool
can create. Where are they used? Coming to a point in a Pear-shape setting,
Princess-cut stone inner-claws, Marquise-shaped Full-Bezel. Not to forget
my favourite setting project 5.25 carat Emerald- Full Bezel. I used the
Flat-graver ‘only towards the point’ of the Bezel. The rest of the Bezel, I
used the Onglette. Having two gravers for one bezel is quite a common
practice among the Setters.
Sometimes I can have multiple #39 & #40 Flat then all of different
Face-thicknesses. All in all, I can have 4-5 Flat gravers, then I could
modify them again to suite my immediate needs. All of this engraving going
on just in one intricate setting project!..“Remember, no ‘Computer Aided
Design’ can replicate what our hands can create!”
BTW, the Face to the Graver bottom have these dimensions, they are* 0.030*mm
high x 1.0mm wide. the Face is so small I need an Opti-Visor with a #7
lens, or a 10x loupe to examine each cut. .“And who says Diamond Setting
is easy?”
*Gerry Lewy *
Toronto.
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