I could recycle it but I have another round stone that is absolutely the same dimensions. I have 100+ stones I’ve bought waiting for my skills to catch up (I did say I got the jewellery bug )
So I’ve completely misunderstood how high the bezel has to be. I will follow your advice and go shorter rather than longer. I do prefer to see more of the stone exposed anyway.
I seem to struggle a lot more with round shapes, than angular and yesterday, after going back to my notes, I had a thought as to why that might be.
So, my process with round shapes is as follows: Take bezel wire, wrap it around the stone as close as I can, mark where it meets and then cut. What I find is, that at this point, the two ends of the bezel don’t quite meet so I have to slightly change the shape of the bezel from round to more oblong so the ends meet perfectly to solder. Once I solder the bezel I then have to hammer the shape back to round using a mandrel. This last step (with the mandrel) is not necessary when the stone is angular and therefore I wonder if that makes it so much harder for me to close the bezel. When silver is hammered, doesn’t it harden? I maybe talking rubbish so do excuse me if that’s the case. And I want to thank you, and everyone else here, for giving your time and know-how so generously -I hope one day, in many moons to come, when I’ve learnt enough, to be in a position to pay it forward.
Mila
P.S. I do wish I lived closer. Though if you ever find yourself near Bristol or Cardiff give me a shout. I do often go up north to Leeds to see family but never as far up as Lancashire.
Rob, it didn’t even occur to me that the size of the pusher can vary or that we are not trying just to close the top of the bezel around the stone, but the whole bezel. I have watched so many videos and have 10+ books on the subject but details like this I’ve either missed or they weren’t obvious.
You are so lucky you can do your own stone-shaping as well. What I have found in my limited experience, especially as a novice, is that a lot of the stones I buy on Instagram and Etsy are not perfectly shaped for setting. And for a novice, this is difficult. Someone experienced will know how to work around it but I don’t. A lot of my favourite stones, lodolite for example, almost never comes with a flat back. Example below:
I think if I had the chance to go back and choose my profession again, I would not have chosen finance, but a lapidary, followed by a jeweller. As things are, turning this love for stones and silver into a hobby is my goal.
Thank you for helping out -I really appreciate it. I’ve not experienced a happily-sharing-secrets-of-the-trade community before in another field.
Thanks for chiming in, I will listen to any wisdom that anyone here is so generously prepared to share. I do generally try to push in from opposite directions first so I don’t end up with a puckered bezel, but the opal stone in the ring continued to jump about even after I closed in the bezel considerably. I am thinking in future to stay away from too tall and too slanted cabs.
If you look at Jo’s jewelry you will see why you should also read her posts. She and many others offered me a lot of good advice when I was asking the same questions you are. Regarding a source for good stones. Short of learning to cut your own, connect with a rock and mineral club nearby. You will find people there who are willing to help you buy good stones and even custom cut for you. Many larger clubs have annual shows where you can buy whatever you might need. I live near Syracuse, NY and our local club has an excellent show in July. Good luck…Rob
I am going to take your advice Rob and go through Jo’s posts. It’s just learning patience that I can’t just get all the answers immediately in my head and get on with all the things I want to create . First learning, then practice… I think there is a rock and mineral club in my town so I am going to hunt them down and join. I am tired of buying on the net and receiving sub-standard stones. Thank you for your suggestions and your time again!
There are free videos, as well as paid subscriptions, and individual videos for sale at $10 and up.
Soham Harrison is featured in many of the shorter free videos.
I like this site because the videos are a range from hobbyist (beginner, advanced) to professional. These are great down and dirty technical videos, with emphasis on fabrication and stone setting.
I think that the hobbyist level videos are much more in depth than many of the free youtube videos out there…
There are many really in depth videos on various setting techniques…how to fabricate…how to set…
here is an individual video on making and setting a thick bezel stone ring:
(I have not watched this one)
also, click on the “download” tab to see a lot of great free information
Elliott- thank you for your great illustration! your pictures were worth a thousand of my words!..“upset”!.. that is the word I was looking for when I said “smush”
What a great site -thanks Julie! I have already subscribed. Watched a couple of videos already - so well explained and easy to follow. Thank you for this Julie!
“I love the thickness of the ring -that bold simplicity is exactly what I am after. Looks so simple but it’s very difficult to achieve.”
Thanks. That’s why I posted it as I thought that’s what you’re after.
I am definitely a bezels person! I have just spent a week attempting to make some prong settings for a pair of earrings for my daughter, who is going on a cruise and has bought a rather spectacular ball gown for the last evening’s ball. She needs bling to go with it. My plan was a square cushion cut at the ear lobe, then a round brilliant, and a huge pear-shaped stone at the bottom (all very good quality CZ that sparkle like you wouldn’t believe!). In the end, I only managed prong settings for the pear-shaped stones, so made a couple of round bezels, so each earring will be a round bezel-set CZ with a pear-shaped prong-set CZ as the dangle. A little different but hopefully still a hit. All fabricated, just need to set the stones in the morning. I never want to see another prong setting!!! I’ve decided that bezels are my thing!
Yay! good to hear!
(I prefer Peter Keep videos…I think there was a way to sort by instructor…but I cannot figure out how now…)
Also, when reviewing video project offerings, keep in mind that although you may not like a particular project design, also consider what fabrication skills will be covered that you might like to learn anyway…if you have the skills then you can make anything you can imagine.
for example a multi swirl ring might not be your style, but the lesson is about multiple solder joints…or soldering a bunch of thin things to a really thick thing…there could be a bunch of great skills to be learned in it…
Helen, I am sure the earrings will look beautiful regardless. You must post a pic when finished. I am surprised to discover that even advanced silversmiths alter their design half-way through the process. I have to do that all the time as things just don’t turn out as I originally planned but thought that at some point I will get to a point where I would decide on a design and stick to it, but maybe that’s not realistic. BTW, so grateful for the advance to go to Machine Mart. Wow, the stuff I found in there, including a rotating vise (only £15 ) and a pair of eye protection glasses with lights on the side to direct towards your work. Great find! They also had a number of good blowtorches but when I enquired about them I was told they are not for ‘cooking’ but for serious stuff like soldering :) I am guessing not many women go into that branch of Machine Mart :).
You are so right -I think I will try to go through as many videos as I can -I want to learn everything. One thing frustrated me though -there was no list of the tools used, I just saw a list of the silver used. Like when the guy uses a file, I would like to know which type exactly so I can buy it, but that’s a minor thing :).
In one of the videos, the guy making a ring drills a hole all the way through the centre of both the bezel cup and the ring shank and puts through both a piece of silver wire and solders like that. Wow, that is a complex way of making a ring. I can see he does it -makes the ring virtually impossible to ever break but gosh, it’s making the process harder. I am guessing it will solve my issue of my rings never being centred properly as when the solder melts it all moves all over the place.
Hi,
yes, I think the bezel ring peg trick is to keep the pieces in place while soldering…that is something I often struggle with…things moving!..holding things in place without too much pressure…
In my earlier days of learning, many jewellers used to bind up the moving pieces with binding wire. Then when finished the soldering they’d just snap the wires off. Voila done!.
So glad you found some good stuff in Machine Mart Mila! How rude regarding the torches though!!! Reminds me of the time I went into a Honda dealership to buy a particular motorbike and the sales guy just kept ignoring me and speaking to my husband instead - until he said “it’s my wife who’s buying a motorbike, speak to her”. I walked out as he carried on. I bought the bike I wanted, a year old and from a different dealer. The guy lost what would have been a definite sale had he not been so sexist!
Regarding holding things still, I have had some success with binding wire, although I did find it very fiddly setting up a soldering job using the wire.
)
I am guessing not many women go into that branch of Machine Mart :).