I don’t have a photo, but the setter really scuffed up the ring he was setting. It was a straight baguette 5mm x 2mm. It was so beat up I had to have it re polished. Is this normal? Maybe it was hard to set?
I think it’s the setter’s responsibility to polish out any marks they put into the object. I would say that’s not normal, but on the other side it’s hard to say without seeing the ring before and after.
Sorry that’s not very helpful! But if I set stones for someone and scuffed up their object, I’d polish it up before returning it.
Jeff
3 Likes
!!! Leaving a scuffed up setting??? however, to be fair, can’t agree more with jeffg… before and after has to be known…
Steve,
I agree with Jeff, “it’s the setter’s responsibility to polish out any marks they put into the object”, I would never send out a piece of Jewellery that I worked on, without it being perfectly Polished or at the very least, looking better than when I received it (there are some pieces of Jewellery, that there’s really not much you can do for them, except make them “shiny”)… Now, that being said, some Stone Setters work in Shops where all they are required to do is Set the Stones, get it ready to Polish and then send it on to the Polisher… So if your Stone Setter is one of those, then it’s oftentimes much better to just Polish it yourself, rather than have them risk damaging the piece, as not all Stone Setters are proficient at Polishing, even though they really should be… Personally, I would find another Stone Setter or start practicing with cheap Stones and Silver and learn how to Set Stones yourself, it will take some time to learn, but if you’re diligent and keep practicing, you will get better and better at it - I think that you said in another post that you’re taking Classes in Jewellery Work now… Good Luck!!!
1 Like
No I’m not taking a jewelry class now… I took one 55 years ago in high school which taught me only the rudimentary stuff… I resumed making jewelry many years later, starting with simple rings and then by trial and error, making more and more complicated pieces. Setting stones was also by trial and error… I did break an orange red small hessonite garnet once and that taught me to be very careful…
What I’m doing now is trying to downsize to move to Albuquerque where we have a house that’s rented out…my next clean up project is to go thru all of my stuff, including tools, unset stones, precious metals and deciding what to keep, sell or give away… I’d like to keep enough to do some minor repairs for friends but otherwise no more fabrication… Orthopedic problems with my neck and shoulders preclude me from bench sitting for any length of time… I actually did sell some pieces in a handmade gallery on consignment while in high school…i regret it now since the stones I sold are far better in quality than available easily now and at a far cheaper price… I did get a TIN and sold a few more later, but haven’t been able to do anything since then… that was over 20 years ago…my knowledge of jewelry was hard won but also very scientific when it came to alloys, tools steels, etc… it’s amazing that all of the world’s knowledge is available now on a cell phone… nothing like that before the information revolution… using it however required hands on trial and error… lucky to have had much less error than trial…
I am still working part time which still is a full time job. Too much to do with too little time…seems to be the norm these days… thanks for your suggestions and your willingness to share freely… whatever I have to say has been gleaned by trial and error…but that is experience, the best teacher.
Steve,
I understand, I apologize, but my comment was actually meant for the Original Poster of this thread, also named “Steve”… I Think that he stated in another thread that he was now taking some Classes in Jewellery Work, instead of just Designing Jewellery and I was encouraging him to learn how to Set his own Stones, instead of using a Stone Setter…
I always enjoy reading your posts and even though a lot of your more Technical explanations elude me and my grasp of the Science of it all, I usually learn something from them, so thank you for sharing your knowledge, I know that all of us here on Ganoksin, really do appreciate it!
I agree with you wholeheartedly, Experience is the best teacher and that is why I like to encourage everyone to try new Techniques and Practice, Practice, Practice! As that is really the only way to get good at any Art or Craft and most especially Jewellery Work…
Jonathan
1 Like
thanks for the compliment…when I cracked my red orange hessonite garnet, I broke something that was really pretty and pretty expensive…that was the first and only time I cracked a stone trying to set it… the experience was a hard teacher but I did learn a good lesson in being really careful and not try to force things…forcing things is the easiest way to break anything!..so far as being technical, sometimes I know that I’m getting too technical and too didactic…all of this kind of stuff is on the internet…getting lost in a scientific topic is easy, even for me… I will try to make it simpler next time I talk science…
If I had the time and decided to start making jewelry again, I’d have to start all over with simple designs…and practice and practice over and over again…craftsmanship is an acquired skill, no matter what you’re engaged in… I’m lucky in that I do have the resources to buy new equipment and still pursue it as a hobby rather than having to do it as work or to turn a profit from sales… I’m devoting my time to downsizing and moving back to Albuquerque… Rio Grande is across town from where our rented out house is…but always too much to do with too little time… when you’re 70+, every day counts…and having too many interests makes it worse… but keeping your mind and hands alive is more and more important as you get older… it helps you keep your marbles intact…
1 Like