Hi Richard,
There is a fair amount of nonsense about this subject, seems like
bending reality to support a preference.
That’s your perspective, and if that is what I’m doing, then I’m
only as guilty as anyone else who uses arguments to support a
preference, ie all of humankind - I don’t know about bending reality.
As far as I know I’ve not bent anything.
The difference in hardness between sterling and fine silver is
negligible.
Well, no. It isn’t negligible. It’s VERY real actually.
Hundreds of thousands of sterling jewelry pieces are made in
Thailand and Bali every year that have bezels that look as good as
anyone on this forum can make, and they use fine silver for the
bezel. Round, square, oval, marquise, pear rectangle....no
puckering.
I never said, nor implied that you will get puckering if you use
fine silver. Please read my words more carefully. I said (and it’s a
fact), that I’ve seen far more poorly made bezels using fine silver,
than I have using sterling silver. I think (and that means that it’s
just my opinion), that beginners use it because it’s easier, and
therefore they don’t develop better setting techniques. Fine silver
WILL scratch and dent more easily. I’m not necessarily suggesting
that a stone will fall out of a fine silver bezel.
The biggest issue with using sterling is that it work hardens. You
don't have as much time to keep bending it over without it
starting to resist your effort.
Yes, and guess what? That’s what annealing is for. But you said it -
it work hardens, meaning that by the time you’re finished with it,
you’ve got a harder piece of jewellery, than if it was made from
fine silver.
Fine silver will last as long as sterling depending on the abuse
the jewelry is subjected to.
That cannot possibly be true. Fact: sterling silver IS harder than
fine silver. And I’m talking particularly about lasting in it’s new
condition, or as close to that as is acceptable. Subject two pieces
(one fine and one sterling) to the same level of abuse, and the
sterling piece will fare better - fact.
Considering where on the body earring and pendants are worn,
Obviously. If we were only talking about earrings and pendants, then
this would be a stupid argument. I was using the examples of rings,
bracelets and cufflinks. I am perfectly willing to accept fine
silver used for bezels (as long as they are competently set of course
- which often they’re not), for use in pendants, necklaces and
earrings, but I would never use it for rings, bracelets or cufflink
stone settings. However, I don’t see why some folks don’t use
sterling for those too. Why use a metal that’s as soft as fresh pasta
for any kind of jewellery? I personally don’t get it.
it is ludicrous to think the thickness of the bezel matters, and
since most sterling jewelry is worn by women, I do not know of many
women over my 35+ years of jewelry repair that have worn out silver
bezels.
It is NOT ludicrous to think the thickness of the bezel matters.
Thicker bezel material will take up the slack at the corners, far
more easily than thinner metal, thereby preventing puckering. That
very fact has been stated on Orchid, by jewellers with decades of
experience, many times, so it’s not just me (an inexperienced
upstart) saying it. My own experiences have proved it to be the case.
But of course, the real “trick” (I don’t like that word but couldn’t
think of an alternative) to avoiding puckering (of any metal and any
thickness of metal), is to make sure your bezel fits the stone
perfectly, both around the stone and in height, and to apply the
forces away from the corners, towards the longer sides of the
setting. But thicker metal helps with this too. It’s all in the
engineering.
And when did I ever say that fine silver bezels will wear out?! That
would be a ludicrous thing to think. I’m talking about dents and
scratches, and possibly warping out of shape if in a ring or
bracelet. Not wearing out. Please read my words more carefully.
And in my opinion, thick bezel does not have any bearing on whether
the jewelry is mundane, and sterling jewelry is not "fine" jewelry.
Might be to you, but not the jewelry industry.
I didn’t say that thin bezels make mundane jewellery. I said that
thin bezels CAN look cheap and nasty, especially if poorly set.
Especially a large stone, with a very thin bezel. If setting a very
large stone, I would always frame it with a thicker bezel, as I
think (personal opinion) that it’s more balanced aesthetically. I’ve
seen some very large stones with such thin bezels, that it looks like
there’s no metal around the stone at all, and when working in
precious metals, surely you’d want that bezel to show wouldn’t you?
Nor did I say that sterling jewellery is “fine” jewellery. I said
that I am teaching myself how to make fine jewellery, and that I am
doing it using sterling silver. That is because I can’t yet afford
the gold and platinum that I really want to be working in. I am
talking predominantly about techniques here. I’m talking about
learning the techniques needed to ultimately make a piece of fine
jewellery (which will one day be in gold or platinum), but
practicing with silver. The resultant piece of “bridge” sterling
silver jewellery will stand up to far more wear and tear than an
equivalent fine silver piece. Fact - because it IS harder. My
sterling pieces are well loved and sell very quickly when I make
efforts to sell them.
If you like the way thick bezels look, that is the only reason to
make thick bezels, whether sterling or fine makes no difference.
It is NOT the only reason to use thicker silver (or any metal). It’s
all in the engineering. Yes, for you competent jewellers with
decades of experience, everything you are saying is true and I’ve no
doubt that you can make a perfectly serviceable and long-lasting fine
silver bezel (as could I if I wanted to), but I’m talking to
relatively new or completely new folk, who are having difficulty with
the use of fine silver and or bezel rollers for setting stones (and
there are a number of them), and offering an alternative perspective,
and a method which will take them further down the road of stone
settings than simply bending a thin fine silver bezel onto a stone
will do.
Most sterling jewelry loses its appeal after the stone is scratched
or broken or gets bent or distorted due to its softness (compared to
gold...) or it goes out of style.
Well there you go Richard, you’ve said it yourself. Even sterling
silver gets “bent or distorted due to its softness”, and I’ve been
saying as much myself - even sterling is too soft for my liking. So
fine silver won’t even get a look in! That’s my whole point and
you’ve just agreed with it unwittingly.
And as for jewellery losing its appeal due to a scratched stone, or
distortion, or going out of style - the same can be said for ANY
metal of choice.
classes where they are generally taught to bezel set cabochons,
using fine silver. In many cases, the classes are not long enough to
teach everything which needs to be learned, to make a really good
bezel setting. The students go on their way, with only very
rudimentary setting skills, and having perhaps set a round or oval
stone in class, they attempt to set a lovely pear shaped stone
they’ve picked up somewhere, only to run into problems with puckering
at the corner, and without the skill set to avoid that. All I’m doing
is offering an alternative. A set of tutorials on how to bezel set
both cabochons and faceted stones successfully. I will be using
sterling, but if folks want to make a pendant and set the stone using
a fine silver bezel, then they’re welcome to do so. My methods will
still be valid. What I am saying is NOT wrong. It’s an alternative
perspective, and a method which does work, for me and for many other
jewellers out there.
Unfortunately, you have misunderstood virtually everything I have
been trying to say. Perhaps that’s my fault. I haven’t made myself
clear obviously. Must try harder - as my school reports used to say!
And for what it’s worth, I found your post to me to be rather
caustic.
Helen
UK
