I’d like to do a drape-affect around raw/irregular-shaped stones and wonder if anyone has done something similar? It might sound better in my mind - but the way I imagine it is the bezel wire draping or ‘melting’ following the irregular shape of the stone, but in a deliberate way rather than looking accidental.
Has anyone has done this, or have examples of others’ work, or just ideas on how it can be done? I’d like to use copper, and presumably thinner bezel wire would be best (28-32 gauge?).
I don’t know what you mean by a “draping-affect”. You can modify the bezel to follow the irregular stone. I usually make a regular bezel cup and then scribe a line around the inside of the bezel following the irregularities of the stone. I then carefully removed material above the scribed line in very small steps until the stone will fit the shape. You can fuse the edge of copper with a very hot fine flame. You can also wreck a torch tip doing this. I am not sure if you would have enough control such that you can follow the scribed line that I describe above while fusing the edge. This would be especially true of 28 - 32 gauge material if that is what you intend to make the bezel out of. I just made a 1mm bezel and that is typical of what I make. I set the stone by using a steel and/or brass rod and a hammer to push the metal against and over the stone. A picture or drawing of what you are trying to do might help. Good luck…Rob
(not sure how this image will show) Do you mean something like this? Original ring (not my work) needed repair requiring removal and resetting of the thin and delicate Paua shell. I filed the top of the bezel down to meet highest part of shell, filing bezel closed with half-round file where the shell surface dipped.
I’ve done stones this way, too but images are not readily at-hand.
