How do I make a backless bezel

I’m trying to figure out the easiest way to make a thin simple bezel
around a flatish faceted stone without using a backing or a ledge,
just the bezel bent slightly around the top and bottom. I’m sure
there is an easy way to do this but I don’t know what it is. Anybody
have any ideas? I’m using 22k gold so it is pretty soft, if that
makes a difference.

Margery Hirschey
www.margeryhirschey.com

Piece of cake…just make it thick enough to cut the seat under the
top edge…snap it in or push out the top of the bezel, put stone in
and burnish.

Russ
The jewelry cad institute.

Hi Margery,

I have made open back bezels by just soldering a round wire inside
the bezel wire itself. The wire then acts kind of like a regular
"seat" for the stone. Most usually I have used it for cabs, but is
has also worked for me with round faceted stones; which I then just
use the correct size bur to cut the seat as usual. They were small
stones but it worked well for that application.

Cheers.
Teresa

If I am understanding correctly, what comes to mind is to use
something the same size as the stone as a ‘lift’ (how high will be
up to your bezel/stone, etc) burnish the top of the bezel over the
stone. Flip the set up over, remove the lift, burnish the bezel over
the back of the stone.

Is that what you mean?

Janice
www.jewelryartistsnetwork.com

actually, and this is hard to do without a visual, I’m trying to bend
a bezel over a flatfish, faceted stone, kind of like a semi rose cut,
so that it is just a little bit of gold around the stone. I don’t
think a lift for the stone would work because the stone is already
protruding higher than the bezel, at least on one side. I see this
kind of bezel done a lot in gold jewelry made in India, it makes for
a lovely, delicate look. and it looks beautiful from the front or
back, nice for earrings that dangle.

Margery
Margery Hirschey
www.margeryhirschey.com

I think people have slightly misunderstood what Margery is trying to
do.

I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to make a thin simple
bezel around a flatish faceted stone without using a backing or a
ledge, just the bezel bent slightly around the top and bottom. 

If I understand her correctly, she’s looking to making a very small
bezel which just captures the girdle of the stone, above and below.
I’ve seen faceted stones set this way in necklaces and earrings, and
it still looks good if the stones flip the wrong way round, as they
are just as open on the back as they are on the front.

I suppose you could make the bezel, then slightly close one edge,
perhaps using a dapping block. Rest the stone table side down in the
bezel, and then turn the bezel’s back onto the underneath of the
girdle.

Helen
UK

The need for a good lens is first and up with that is practice with
lighting. Getting good macro shots of a dragonfly, a rose, a chess
piece…well, those are not difficult with experience. As for
jewelry, those who have not tried it in macro photos may be very
surprised at the initial difficulty compared to other macro subjects
they may have mastered! It all has to do with radiance of the stones
and reflections of metals. As I mentioned previoiusly, sometimes
controlled glare or reflection is a plus. This depends on whether you
want a technical shot or something more akin to an advertising photo.

Practice and do experiment with lighting. Tripod and manual focus are
a must. (With enough light, you can skip the tripod but if you want
to overlay photos, tripod is totally needed.) Practice with objects
to control reflections such as first, diffusing light on metal. Then,
practice with things in the area such as papers rolled up or hanging
to control the color of reflections.

If shooting a gemstone only, that will need the point sources of
light. Anunmounted opal may be very well shot while immersed under
water with manual focus and no debris on the water surface to give
it away! Go for it.

I mentioned a Sigma lens, 50mm as one I use. I also have a 105mm
Sigma macro which is 1:1. The longer lens has less use outside macro
but in macro use does give more working room. These lenses do well.
Do not skimp on the lens. It does not have to be the best from Nikon
since some others do as well. Beware of cheap lenses in this
detailed work.

You will find the focus depth of field is quite limited, meaning
only some portion of the item may be in focus depending on the item,
lens and aperture setting. Experiment with where the focus is sharp,
on a prong, on the stone table or deeper into the jewelry. See the
effect of depth of field which can enhance the photo or ruin it to
the eye.

Best wishes overall. Tom.

Depending on how thick the girdle of the stone is. If it is, say,
just a couple of mm. I would make a straight bezel about 3 to 4 mm
then solder in a fine wire and set the stone conventionally. Not what
you want to do.

If it was like an opal with a thick curved girdle I have made a thin
strip, say, 5 or 6 + mm wide and about 12 mm longer than the
circumference of the stone. then using a swage block or a groove in
a stump and a hammer with a rounded U head gently hammer the strip
till it is concave along its length. Finish it nicely so that the
concave is just too curved for the girdle to fit in to. (The concave
will open a bit when you bend the concave strip around the stone)

With flat nosed pliers flatten and bend about 4 mm of one end of the
concave strip 90 deg on the convex side. Now bend the strip around
the stone’s girdle and carefully mark where the next back bend has
to be, Flatten the area and bend the strip leave about the same
measurement as with the first bend, Hopefully the two flat ends
should come together and the concave strip now tightly containing
the girdle of the stone.

Hold both ends tightly and drill two small holes, say, 0.8 as close
to the stone as possible in the two flat ends. You will rivet the
two flat ends together after tidying up and polishing. The riveted
ends can be drilled above the rivets to take a chain and act as a
bail after shaping.

This should all be done so that the stone is tight but usually a
little burnishing is necessary especially where the curve meets the
flat end. You can get a nice little ^ shape formed. Perhaps try in
silver before using 22ct.

The beauty of this is that it requires no soldering. Hope this is of
some help.

David
jewellerydavidcruickshank.com.au

1 Like

I usually make a bearing to fit inside the bezel. It is similar to
cutting a seat because the stone sits down in the bezel on the
bearing and from the back it looks like one solid piece of metal.

The bearing can be made one of two ways. Cut metal for bezel and cut
same length for bearing, but have it be about 2 mm shorter than
bezel. Solder the bearing to the bezel before shaping round. After
can shape to round, solder together, and the seat is inside for the
stone. You can also buy premade stepped bezel wire that has a
similar appearance.

The second way you can make the bearing is to make a bezel and then
make a bearing soldering each separately and then making them round.
Bearing should be shorter than the bezel, but does not have to be,
and it needs to be a couple of mm shorter, so it will fit inside the
large bezel. Slide bearing into bezel; fit should be tight. Inside
height can be adjusted to allow for bezel coming over girdle and
small part of crown of stone. Solder bearing from back to make it
look seamless. cut off any excess bearing material.

Melissa Stenstrom

I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to make a thin simple
bezel around a flatish faceted stone without using a backing or a
ledge, just the bezel bent slightly around the top and bottom. I'm
sure there is an easy way to do this but I don't know what it is.
Anybody have any ideas? I'm using 22k gold so it is pretty soft, if
that makes a difference. 

Take a thin piece of gold (narrow) and mill it thin. Anneal well and
taper one end. Pull the sheet through a fairly large draw plate to
make a “U” shaped channel (pull it through a few more holds to get
your desired size. Do things with files and rubber wheels. Wrap it
around your stone and cut to size. If you’re making a pendent,
solder a fairly heavy open jump ring, one end to each side of the
open end of the bezel. Polish, and place the stone in the bezel and
close the jump ring. This should close the bezel tight to the stone.
You can use a polished burnisher to finish it up.

The easiest option you can use is a step bezel. They’re available at
all supply houses from Rio Grande, to Stuller to Otto Frei and
others. The step bezel has a very small “step” that the stone rests
on. It is truly the easiest way to get a backless bezel.

Alternatively, you can make your own several ways. Make a regular
bezel cup and saw out the bottom (for a larger skirt back, or solder
square wire to the bottom of your bezel for a smaller skirt. Still,
as I mentioned, the step bezel wire is the easiest and smallest
skirt.

Michele
MikiCat Designs

I'm trying to bend a bezel over a flatfish, faceted stone, kind of
like a semi rose cut, so that it is just a little bit of gold
around the stone. I don't think a lift for the stone would work
because the stone is already protruding higher than the bezel, at
least on one side. 

You got me intrigued. Any chance of seeing the picture of the stone,
profile especially.

Leonid Surpin

Again, I missed the start of the thread, so not certain of the
question, but the last three replies that I read all offer
interesting and possible solutions.

I make a “backless” bezel for beach glass that is truly backless…
meaning there is no backplate of any sort. No wire, no cut-away back
plate, no seat cut in heavy bezel. I call it a “wrapped bezel” as
both sides of the bezel are pushed onto the glass… sort of wrapped
on the edge of the glass… not around it as in a wire wrapping
technique. Not the easiest technique to accomplish if the goal is a
“perfect” bezel on both sides, but if one is willing to let go of
“perfect” and embrace “organic”, not that hard.

Carol Holaday

Margery - could you make a regular bezel setting and then cut out the
back portion so just a rim was left’then set the stone like you
normally would? Or is the back of the stone not flat? If not, then
this wouldn’t work.

she's looking to making a very small bezel which just captures the
girdle of the stone, above and below. 

I believe Helen is correct, or at least that’s been my understanding
of the question. A backless bezel is a bezel with a seat soldered or
cut, and an open back. What Helen is talking about is unsually called
a “coin frame” in the trade, whether it’s a coin or not. That’s a rim
that just grips the girdle. Rio sells something like it, or did, but
I’m not going to look it up and they have their own name for them.
One “Norman” wrote one good way to make them, today. I made one
lately in rose gold for a custom-shaped rose quartz heart, faceted
both sides.

The only real thing to know is that you can’t “set” them like a usual
bezel. Or let’s say maybe you could, but it’s the hardest way. You
need to do something like Norman talks about with the jump ring - put
the stone in and crimp it together. I use a more sophisticated
system usually, but it’s the same idea.

Sorry if I misunderstood, I thought it was a large stone that needed
setting. Anyway anyone is welcome to the

If indeed it is a very small stone, say, 3mm. I have made bracelets
for such stones. Draw down round or thickish rectangular wire, say,
2.5mm height and make settings with ID just smaller than the stone
diam. Solder on whatever fittings you need. And polish.

Secure in setters wax on a thick handle and use a seating burr rout
out to about 1.5 mm from the setting. When the stone is in place it
will sit very low with the cullet protruding. Take a fine very sharp
knife edge graver and starting from just below the top cut on the
diagonal pressing down increasing the depth of cut, stop before the
tip reaches the stone.

Repeat on the other 3 quarters. You should have 4 ‘hairs’ curling in
in a spiral to hold the stone in place. Moustache setting I think. Try
a few in silver first. Hope I have got it right and it is of use.

David
jewellerydavidcruickshank.com.au

Hi Margery,

I have attached a photo of what I think you are trying to do. I did
this some time ago in silver with a carnelian cab (works well for
facets as well). The procedure I followed is exactly as Norman
described. Hope the illustration helps.

Kind regards,
Linda

Its often hard to visualise all of these things over the internet.
When you said without a ledge or backplate I took that to mean no
stepped bezel, no seat cut, etc - for whatever your reasons
were/are.

If the stone is truly like a rose cut you should still be able to
bend bezel wire over one side and then the other as you can begin
with the protruding side while there is a slight lift under the stone
so that when you turn it over you have a slight lip to bend over. I
think this is similar to what Carol Holaday mentioned, but I can’t be
sure.

Other than that, why not use a bearing wire, stepped bezel, or cut
seat. You can actually use tubing on a backplate, cut out the
backplate until there is the slightest ‘rim’ which then becomes the
front of the setting, take down the tubing as low as you desire for
your stone and then raise stitches to hold it in place. As a matter
of fact, if you have Cogswell’s book - I do believe he has a setting
similar to what you are asking about. He shows several options. I
think one of them may be to cut a seat for a jumpring and then snap
that in the back once your stone is in place and another may be to
simply use a jumpring to bend the bezel wire over. Good book to add
to your collection if you don’t already have it.

I am sure others with more experience have come up with better
options though, but whatever you do - good luck and report back to
let us know how itall went!

Janice
www.doxallo.com
www.jewelryartistsnetwork.com

View the little video at the start of today’s listing. It is a quick
and easy way to build a backless mounting.

Easy Setting

John Moe
Pentaluna Jewels
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Pentaluna

I make a "backless" bezel for beach glass that is truly
backless.... meaning there is no backplate of any sort. 

I also make sea glass bezels this way. Very effective for showing
off both sides and allowing maximum light passing through the glass.
And, quite easy.

No reason this can’t be used on other cabs.

I don’t have any pics of my stuff, still working on web page and
photos…

Sandra
…in Snohomish where it is cool and cloudy today