So…recently purchased a parcel lot of peachy champagne colored topaz…I would like to enhance the peach tones…while researching techniques of doing so, I came across the Georgian(1714-1837) technique of using colored foil behind gems in their setting to either enhance or change the color of a gem(pink foil to create a “pink diamond”)… Has anyone ever foiled a gemstone here? Is it as simple as books describe it or is there some missing steps/tricks to making this technique a success…? I appreciate any info there is on this Thanks!
Backing transparent stones with colored foil is a technique that goes back into antiquity. In his treatise on goldsmithing Cellini has formulas for four colors of foil with the techniques for using them. Dover used to publish C.R. Ashbee’s translation of Cellini’s treatises but it’s out of print. If you stumble across a used copy it’s worth picking up.
A free, digitized copy is available to download from Project Gutenberg.
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Following is a link to a previous discussion of foiling gemstones…Rob
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I had a thought while on my way to a dr. appt… what about using anodized aluminum sheet behind the stone as the foiling…? I ask because after reading an article -
Foil Backing in Georgian Jewellery
I realized that foiling with color can be very fraught with issues namely the loss of said color…Thoughts…? Thanks so much!
oops or titanium sheeting would be okay too…?
I set a lot of faceted stones in bezels. I use Mylar. Mine came from one of those shiny emergency blankets: its silver on one side and gold on the other. Tip came from a Jewelry Arts YouTube.
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love this idea thanks!, do you glue the mylar in place or,?
No glue. I just cut it carefully to fit perfectly inside the bottom of the bezel. I sometimes use a second interior bezel with the faceted stones, so I put it under the second bezel and that holds it flat. It does make for a nice shiny base.