Lumpy bezels

Jewelry Discussion
61 
I think shortcuts are okay once you've learned to do it the "hard"
way - ya gotta earn ya stripes.

To go a bit farther - I object sometimes to the word “shortcut”, and
I think often people don’t understand what they are saying at all (I
don’t mean this case specifically). If someone teaches you to set
prongs with a graver and file, and somebody else uses a hart bur, is
that a shortcut? No, graver setting is old world, hart burs are
modern setting technique. Using precut settings is a shortcut and I
could go on about those… I hear so many people here talking about
sandpaper - I use it but not very much, and never carborundum. Use a
good file, it’s the “proper” way to work - files aren’t shortcuts,
sandpaper is a poor substitute and the long way around for shaping
metal. Nothing against sandpaper, but it’s cheap, files are quite
expensive, so that’s what schools teach.

The only thing that matters is the end result - the end result is
determined by what methods are used to get there. Meaning that if
you can set a round bezel in 1/2 hour, and I can set it in 30
seconds and they both look and act the same, I know what I’m doing
and you don’t - that’s not a shortcut, it’s skill, tooling and
working efficiently. This is why we have apprenticeships, formal or
not.

There are many, many examples that I’ve heard but don’t necessarily
remember exactly. “Bend it, 3 sandings, squeeze it, stand on your
head, eyeball it again…” Or just go “Thwack” with a hammer,
file it out and we are done. How does that formula for making a
bezel go? X+2y squared times the multiple of the tangent? I just
wrap that sucker around the stone, but who am I… Lot’s of stuff
that isn’t a shortcut, people were just taught a laborious process
to begin with, and then need to unlearn bad habits.

Just because somebody teaches you a recipe doesn’t mean that’s how
to cook. Jewelry isn’t made by 1) Pick up pliers 2) Squeeze joint 3)
Solder joint 4) Put in pickle. It’s made by understanding the
principles, of which there are many, and then applying those
principles daily. Just because a school taught you the routine above
doesn’t mean that’s how to work, it’s just the way to teach
something. “Let’s get that joint soldered and move on.” How you
accomplish that means little, almost all the time. If you take
actual shortcuts on that seam, you’ll have a bad seam - if you can
do the job properly, but without the baggage and three times faster
than most, then you get the gold star. If you sand and file and soak
and scrub and agonize for an hour over a seam, and I pick it up and
solder it together out of the box in 90 seconds, and they are
identical, then you are wasting your time. Work smarter.

62 
My comment about the way she was producing bezels was not
profitable was ment to say that there is always more than one way
to skin a cat and that if you are going to translate this method of
making bezels and using them even in gold jewelry it STILL isn't
going to be anymore profitable no matter how good you get at making
them that way.

Precisely, there is more than one way to skin a cat! You come from
the manufacturing side of jewellery making. I do NOT want to get
into the manufacturing side of things. I want to make one-of-a-kind
pieces or certainly very limited quantities, and sell through
jewellery galleries.

Ok, so you can say that you "hand made " the bezels, That's why I
started my comments concerned about hurting ego's!

It has absolutely nothing to do with egos. Like I said, I’m doing
this to train myself how to make fine jewellery. There are MANY
makers of fine jewellery on this forum who still make their own
bezels, shanks, bales, etc and are making a very nice living for
themselves thanks very much. They too are not into mass-production.
Why have a go at the way I do things - I’m not the only one on this
forum to make my own jewellery parts? I like the satisfaction of
knowing that I made each component in a piece of jewellery - and I
don’t think that’s my ego talking.

Most of the gemstones I purchase are not calibrated and so they need
custom settings to be fabricated for them. Even the calibrated ones
I have bought were not very consistent and each individual stone
still needed its own setting and swapping them around did not work as
they did not fit - I had to number the stones and the settings.

I never did metalwork at school, although I wanted to. In those days
girls did embroidery, dressmaking and cookery lessons and the boys
did metalwork, woodwork and technical drawing (I do sound old!). I
was SO jealous of the boys as their subjects seemed much more
interesting! So my little venture as the moment is all about learning
how metal behaves in different conditions and that’s exactly what I’m
doing. Buying commercial settings will not teach me any of that. I
don’t need to make a living from it at the moment, although of course
it would be nice. To me, it’s more important that I learn, learn,
learn and improve along the way until I’m confident and happy that
the quality of my work is good enough to sell - although to be
perfectly honest, I’ve personally bought jewellery from shops of
lower quality than I’m producing at the moment. I recently made a
necklace and earring set for a charity auction and it sold for 200
UKP, so I know that my jewellery is salable and that people want to
buy it. When the time is right, I’ll have to find the right galleries
to showcase my work - my handmade work that is NOT bits of commercial
findings stuck together. It wouldn’t have the same appeal if I bought
the bits.

Here's a faster way to make your bezels and they will still be
"Hand crafted". Take a bit heavier gauge ss tubing, cut to length,
use a setting bur, cut the appropriate size seat for whatever stone
you're setting,

I already do this for some small round stones and that is fine for
round stones in the sizes of tubing I can get hold of, but it’s no
good for larger round stones (which I still have to make my own
bezel settings for) or stones of different shapes. I don’t only set
round stones. I set round, oval, pear, heart, marquise, trillion,
octagon, princess, cushion - every shape and so tubing is no good for
all of them. In actual fact, it doesn’t take me long at all to knock
up a round bezel setting. It’s the easiest shape to make and can be
quickly done.

Of course I know that there are beginners out there but I believe
in showing different approches and letting the decide what works
and what doesn't. We are not all robots.

I’m well aware that there are many companies out there all selling
ready made settings, shanks and all manner of findings, without the
need for it to be pointed out. That part of the industry has its
place in the custom and repair side of the business. I myself have
purchased a platinum replacement head for my engagement ring when
the white gold prongs of the original failed and my diamond fell out.
A fellow Orchid member rebuilt my ring for me using the new setting
when my skills were not yet up to the job in hand. There is a
possibility that I will be asked to do a similar job for someone else
now that I am capable of doing so, and if that’s the case I will be
buying a ready-made setting for that. But they have no place in my
one-of-a- kind, handmade jewellery that I make.

Sorry for being so long-winded and for repeating myself but I do
feel the need to defend my position on this. One day I’ll learn to be
less defensive - I promise! :wink:

Helen
UK
http://www.hillsgems.co.uk
http://helensgems.ganoksin.com/blogs/

63

Hi Bruce,

Kudos to you for putting in the work to try all of the methods.
Different situations definitely call for different methods.

Thank you. I don’t like to let anything defeat me so I’d like to
have a go at pretty much everything at some point. There’s plenty of
time for such fun! :wink:

I don't use much commercial tubing. Most of it has been too thin
for my purposes. I have made most of my tubing.

I agree about the commercial tubing. By the time you cut the seat
for the stone, the walls are much too thin. I’d like to make my own
tubing and will do so as soon as I can afford things like swage
blocks and draw plates. They’re not cheap bits of kit and are on the
shopping list of many tools I’d like to buy!

Another tool that I have used is an arbor press rather than a
hammer. A little more control and a better sensation of when the
stone is set.

I didn’t know what an arbour press was until I read your post. I
looked them up on the internet. How do you use one of those to set
stones? I can’t quite figure it out.

Be sure as well that in my opinion, your bezels are beautiful and
as long as you make them by hand, you should continue to avoid this
shortcut.

Thank you again. I’ll continue in my usual method and chalk the
bezel punches up to experience. I won’t be so quick to buy something
like that again. Even if I’d found them to work well, they are only
good for round stones and I set stones of all shapes and sizes so
their usefulness would have been very limited indeed!

Helen
UK

64

Bruce,

I also served an apprenticeship in the early 1970s. The master
jeweler I worked for did his apprenticeship in the late 1930’s to
early 1940’s. He worked in the Craftsman era style and hand forged
basically everything from cast ingots.

I have only gotten back into the business recently and am still in
the process of acquiring additional equipment from my early profits,
so currently I work from commercial stock. I am setting up my space
to bring in a rolling mill, which the profits from my last show will
purchase. I have a fair amount of scrap 14K, and the rolling mill
will allow me to bring it into my inventory.

Most of my work is with colored stones, opals, agates and jaspers.
Most of the work is in sterling and fine silver. Virtually all of
the materials I work with are heat sensitive, so my setting work is
almost always on fully fabricated pieces.

I build bezel settings in both manners, from thicker stock where the
seat is cut, generally with a setting bur, and by constructing step
bezel, where the seat is soldered in.

I have made some round bezel mandrels and punches from plain steel
round stock. Used carefully, I have gotten consistent crisp and
smooth results, and both tools have speeded production considerably.
My bezel punches are much like a large beading tool, the cavity in
the tip is spherical and highly polished. I have made several in
millimeter sizes that compare well to the typical stones I work
with, in the 3 to 8 mm range.

A couple of things i have found indispensible to crisp round bezels
in fine silver that set easily:

Tool the material as little as possible. Anneal it dead soft and
form it by hand (fingers) as much as possible.

Make sure that your solder joints are as tight as possible and use
the least amount of solder necessary to make the join. Solder has a
different hardness and will tend to not form to the stone as easily,
yeilding lumps.

I generally go with a bezel with an internal diameter as tight as
possible to the stone and then thin, to the extent required, from
the outside during the finishing process (before setting, sometimes
before attaching to the body of the piece).

For smaller stones, a simple step can be made with an 18 guage round
jump ring, which is then cut to a seat with an appropriate bur. For
stability, these can be easy soldered in place.

When assembled, I place the piece on the steel bench block with a
bit of fabric beneath it to prevent marring. Setting proceeds with a
burnishing motion using the proper punch to get the material moving
in the right direction. Once the material is near closed on the
stone, a light tap or two with a small hammer is all that is needed
to tighten it. If the punch is maintained in good polish, the upper
surface comes out burnished bright with little need for refinement
and polish.

Bill Carlie
Night Heron Studios

65

Hi Helen,

I stated to make the bezel strip by cutting from sheet, but could not
keep a good straight edge. Now I buy 0.3mm * 5mm or 3mm strip from
Cookson. So far I’ve only set cabochon stones and two electronic
integrated circuits (iC’s) (pair of cufflinks for a friend at work!)
They have all been set on to a backing plate. I like your
description of the way you do it, to reduce the height of the bezel I
also rub it down on sandpaper using the figure of eight method, I
also stop and change the point where I hold the bezel to reduce the
chance of putting to much pressure in the same place. Looks like that
I also may be leaving to much metal above the stone, reading your
later post I get the finish you describe. So I’ll try and get a much
more constant and smaller amount of metal to roll over. I find the
Orchid the best place to learn, but I feel that I need to learn more
before I can start adding to the forum, until then I just have to ask
questions. As to location I’m in Witchford a small village (one
pub!) about 3miles west of Ely in Cambridgeshire.

66 
Many here could learn much from Helen's approach to jewelry
making. there are times when making it is proper, and there are
times when you're reinventing the wheel at 4x cost. That's fine for
practice, but after you get done practicing, it's time to get to
work...

As usual John, you offer sensible advice, seeing things from both
sides of the fence, and I thank you for that. However, as with any
of this type of discussion, it’s not really as simple as all that.
Many responders to this type of post only see one way to do things -
their way - and they forget that this forum caters to MANY different
types of jeweller, probably all with different business models.

I can buy a pair of diamonds, a pair of bezel earrings, set the
stones with a bezel punch in under a minute, and have $500 in my
pocket - what's not to like?

I too could do the same and what you say makes perfect sense -
except that at present I don’t have an outlet to sell such pieces if
I did make them - it makes perfect sense for you in your situation.
You are a bricks and mortar jeweller and that type of thing sells
really well in such an outlet, alongside your other handmade pieces
and custom work. If I had a shop, then I would be doing exactly that
and churning out such earrings in various combinations of karat gold
and diamond size/quality. That would make perfect sense. However, I’m
not a bricks and mortar jeweller. I don’t make repeat things (at the
moment) and so I’m not doing that.

If it were all about the money, I could take it one step further. I
received in the post this morning, a wholesale catalogue of
beautiful fine diamond jewellery at very reasonable prices. With some
careful buying, I could very easily buy a small inventory and set up
my own online store selling these pieces for a profit and probably
make a reasonable living doing it. Incidentally, if it were all about
the money, I could have stayed in my very well-paid teaching job. But
like many here who have given up corporate jobs and left the
rat-race, it’s all about enjoying what we do - job satisfaction. And
for me, that means making my own jewellery.

One size does NOT fit all. In choosing to make my own bezels, etc
and being very vocal about it on Orchid, I am NOT telling others that
they should be doing the same as me. I am saying that that is what
suits me at the present time. I want to make fine jewellery,
one-of-a-kind pieces that I can sell through galleries. There are
many people on Orchid doing just that, and yet people don’t imply to
them (or outright tell them) to buy in ready-made bezels and solder
them together or buy ready made bezel or prong earrings and pop
diamonds in them. It’s a different market but there is a market for
us all.

There are Orchid members who are mass-producers of their jewellery.
There are mom and pop family jewellers with their own brick and
mortar stores. There are beaders. There are people who do small batch
production, carving waxes and casting them, or sending the casting
out to casting houses. There are wire wrappers. There are designer
goldsmiths. There are bench workers who work for others or who work
for themselves. There are people who have their own online stores
through which they sell their handmade jewellery or alternatively
inventory they have bought in from others. And then there are people
like me, who make their jewellery and sell it through jewellery
galleries. I’ve probably missed many other types of jewellers -
sorry - but you get the point, there are many different types. One
business model does not fit all of us.

In the new year, I will be making some pieces to take round to
independent jewellers and galleries with a view to selling my
jewellery. I already have a couple of people interested. They are
interested in having jewellery in their cases made by individual
jewellery makers. A pair of bezel-set diamond stud earrings made
from bought components is not what they are looking for - they
already have those in their inventory. If I made those and sold them,
I would be no different to H. Samuels or Ernest Jones (UK jewellery
chain stores). They already offer those. If someone is in the market
for that type of jewellery (which I myself have bought - the
jewellery essentials), then they’re not going to come to me - they
will go to the chain stores and buy their earrings. I will be making
earrings that they can’t buy in H. Samuels or Ernest Jones.

Please don’t read into all this that I am getting heated, because I
really am not. I am confident in my position and am just trying to
spell it out a little more clearly to those who don’t seem to
understand where I’m coming from. I’m just hoping that after a
couple of decades of doing this that I’ll be as good or nearly as
good as you are John - fingers crossed.

Helen
UK
http://www.hillsgems.co.uk
http://helensgems.ganoksin.com/blogs/

67 
If you have a paper cutter (the guillotine type), that can be used
to cut silver sheet in the lighter gauges.

That would likely give me straighter, more parallel cuts too. I’m
not sure how our gauges compare to yours. Would such a paper cutter
cut 0.5mm sterling silver?

Helen
UK

68 
Meaning that if you can set a round bezel in 1/2 hour, and I can
set it in 30 seconds and they both look and act the same, I know
what I'm doing and you don't - that's not a shortcut, it's skill,
tooling and working efficiently.

I haven’t actually timed myself but I can assure you that it does
NOT take me half an hour to bezel set a round stone! It probably
takes me two minutes max - not too inefficient. And if my damned
punches worked, it would probably take me 30 seconds too.

How does that formula for making a bezel go? X+2y squared times the
multiple of the tangent? I just wrap that sucker around the stone,
but who am I....

For round stones I do the pi x D plus a bit in my head to roughly
calculate it then cut it out. If it’s too big I cut a bit out, if
it’s too small I solder it closed and stretch it up on my round
bezel mandrel - real quick. But for other stones, after roughly
estimating the length, I too just wrap that sucker around the stone.
We’re not that different. I might only have been doing this for
eighteen months but I’m quick at what I’ve learned to do well.

If you sand and file and soak and scrub and agonize for an hour
over a seam, and I pick it up and solder it together out of the box
in 90 seconds, and they are identical, then you are wasting your
time. Work smarter.

If we’re talking about a seam on a bezel, then again an hour is way
over the top. It takes me seconds to butt a seam together and solder
it, not an hour. I don’t faff around with filing and sanding and
scrubbing, I cut straight, butt, flux and solder. My seams are
invisible and pass the hallmarking quality test. I’m not wasting my
time - I’m working smart.

Helen
UK

69 
For me, this size stone is usually a diamond,

Yeah it works for diamond except that a three pointer is mighty easy
to toast. Corundums can be dicey, even if you don’t burn it now, you
may have embrittled it. I don’t know the science of it but its what
I’ve observed after a frillion retippings. (Tip it, looks great,
clean up the metal and woops where did that chip come from?) Other
color, its just not advisable. I know prongs are not bezels but its
the principle of heating stones that I’m trying to address. Wouldn’t
want the uninitiated to think its good procedure to routinely heat
stones.

So yes, it can be done but within a very narrow range of variables.

70 
I recently made a necklace and earring set for a charity auction
and it sold for 200 UKP, so I know that my jewellery is salable

You go girl!! Feels good, doesn’t it? Helen’s little discourse
brings up a couple of important points.

Pedantry is evil. It makes no difference what your teachers taught
you, or who they were, it was only the beginning of your experience.
A stone is set by pinching it between an upper bearing surface and a
lower bearing surface. Whether you accomplish that by using a punch,
a bezel pusher, a burnisher, a hammer handpiece, or an old nail
makes no difference whatsoever, as long as the work is up to
standard. And the same goes for absolutely everything else. I don’t
have experience making each and every ring design there could be - I
do know “How Things Are Made”. You don’t, or shouldn’t need to be
told how to set a round stone, an oval stone, etc. You learn what
setting is, and you learn prong, bead, channel, what-have-you, and
from there you should be able to set anything, to a degree. It’s
about principles and fundamentals, not, “My teacher told me, so
that’s how it is”. Soldering is soldering - large, small, inside,
outside. You have to be able to say, “I can solder anything.” Not,
“Well, I never soldered a setting on before…”

The second thing is the wonderful innocence of youth…(youth at the
bench). We are a jewelry manufacturer. Within limits, we’ll make
anything that makes a buck. My own starry-eyed innocence is long
past, it’s a business. My job is two fold: First is to make
beautiful, stylish jewelry that people can’t wait to show to their
friends. Second is to make money for myself and the stores we deal
with. I think that Helen’s, and others’, commitment to making every
thing of every piece is commendable and a good attitude. I also
think that some who are “assemblers of findings” are missing out on
much of jewelry making, even if they are making a living. But my job
isn’t black or white. My job is to make a piece in a proper way at
the best price/profit I can. If I need to make a setting or shank,
that’s what I’ll do. I am NOT going to make a shank I can buy from
Frei for $75 or a bezel @$3.50. That’s student and/or idealist stuff,
and I’m neither. The real defining thing is duplication. If you get
tubing and make it taller or shorter or whatever than you can buy,
then you are doing something. If you are just duplicating a tube
setting or a solitaire in every way, well, you won’t be working
here…

71

Hi Helen,

That would likely give me straighter, more parallel cuts too. I'm
not sure how our gauges compare to yours. Would such a paper
cutter cut 0.5mm sterling silver?

You shouldn’t have any trouble cutting.5 mm sterling. That’s aprox
…020" which is 24 ga.

One of the the things to look out for if you by a paper cutter for
cutting silver is the base the unit has. Some of the less expensive
cutters use a base made from plastic. I’ve use several of these &
every one was a PITA. The plastic has tendency to flex when cutting
Look for a cutter with a wood base. If I had to recommend a size, I’d
suggest getting one with a depth of at least 12 inches (16 is
better). The majority of them have a 12 inch width, unless you get a
really large one.

There’s a certain amount of technique & arm strength involved also.

Dave

72

Hi Neil,

Now I buy 0.3mm * 5mm or 3mm strip from Cookson.

I tried bezel strip but personally I don’t like it, mainly because
it doesn’t come thick enough for my liking, and also because it comes
in a standard width/height so you have to reduce the height by some
means if you’re setting a shallow stone.

I like your description of the way you do it, to reduce the height
of the bezel I also rub it down on sandpaper using the figure of
eight method

I do it more to flatten the top and bottom edges rather than to
reduce the height. I like to make them pretty much the correct height
to start with - filing or sanding to reduce the height takes SO much
time.

I also stop and change the point where I hold the bezel to reduce
the chance of putting to much pressure in the same place.

Yes, that’s a good idea, especially if you’re removing any real
dimension using the process.

Looks like that I also may be leaving to much metal above the
stone, reading your later post I get the finish you describe. So
I'll try and get a much more constant and smaller amount of metal to
roll over.

Before I started making jewellery, I read that beginners
instinctively make their bezels too tall and have the problem of
gapping, and so I’ve always made a conscious effort to avoid that. To
be honest, my method for measuring the height of bezel I need is VERY
primitive. I use a small steel ruler and using the millimeter scale,
hold the stone next to the ruler so that I can see the stone’s side,
and just eyeball it. I repeat the measurement in a few places around
the stone. You only need the tiniest bit of metal to hold the stone
in place, so for me it is just the very slightest bit past the point
where the profile of the stone starts to curve. Just that little
extra height over the stone’s curving point will keep it from falling
out and you will never get gaps when setting. Also too much metal can
look very ugly, resulting in the visual balance of stone surface and
metal being all wrong.

I stated to make the bezel strip by cutting from sheet, but could
not keep a good straight edge.

Yes, it is difficult to get a straight edge. However, in my
(limited) experience, it is far easier and less time consuming to
roughly cut the sheet to the correct height and then sand the
discrepancies afterwards, than it is to make a bezel from bezel strip
that is too tall and then sand to reduce it in height. Sanding to
reduce whole millimeters at a time takes forever and it’s very
tempting to stop before you get to the correct height because of the
sheer laboriousness of it. If it’s already soldered onto the
backplate by that stage, it would also be difficult to test whether
or not the bezel was the correct height.

Pretty much all the cabochons I’ve set have necessitated bezels of
approximately 2-3mm in height (opaque cabochons where the bezel is
soldered to a backplate that is), so I suppose your 3mm bezel strip
would be okay for that, but the 5mm strip may be excessive for most
setting jobs for cabochons, hence gapping when setting (it would be
okay for open-backed settings with a bearer for transparent/
translucent cabochons). Also, the thinner the metal the more
difficult it will be to set the stone if the bezel is too tall. The
metal has to compress as well as move inwards and with thicker metal
(0.5mm instead of 0.3mm), there is more scope for successful
compression than there is with thinner metal and so it is easier to
get a smooth, non-lumpy bezel.

PLEASE NOTE, that I am NOT trying to tell you how to do things, just
how I have found things work best for me and why that’s the case. If
I could get bezel strip in 0.5mm thickness, I would buy it for
making my bezels, rather than cutting them from sheet, but they only
seem to sell it in 0.3mm thickness. I’m suggesting that you don’t
necessarily rule out using sheet (for its thickness) completely and
perhaps experiment again. However, your problem may simply be in
measuring the height of bezel needed and then achieving that height.
If the length of the bezel is not excessive and fits the
circumference of the stone snugly and your bezel height is just a
smidge taller than the stone’s curving point, you sand your top edge
lovely and crisp, then you should achieve a lovely smooth, lump-free
bezel.

Have fun making lovely bezels!

BTW, your little village with its one pub sounds lovely!!!

Helen
UK
http://www.hillsgems.co.uk
http://helensgems.ganoksin.com/blogs/

73

A couple of rules to always remember: Only heat RED, WHITE, and BLUE
Control your heat! take a bit more time with soldering stones in
place and you’ll be fine. I can be the only one that has NO problems
with this. And last, USE COMMON SENSE.

74

Hi John,

You go girl!! Feels good, doesn't it?

Yes it does feel good! I hope to start to repeat the experience on a
regular basis, although of course this time making money for myself
rather than for charity.

My job is to make a piece in a proper way at the best price/profit
I can. If I need to make a setting or shank, that's what I'll do. I
am NOT going to make a shank I can buy from Frei for $75 or a bezel
@$3.50. That's student and/or idealist stuff,

I agree that that makes sense for you in your situation John. And I
don’t think it’s necessarily student and/or idealist stuff. I wrote
a post yesterday (day before yesterday by the time you read this)
explaining my position and saying that there are so many different
types of jewellers and that your business model is not right for us
all. It appeared today (yesterday by the time you read this). At the
present time, I am learning how to be a metalsmith and aspire to
become a maker of fine jewellery - a goldsmith. However, I am not a
bricks and mortar jeweller and am looking at putting my work in
jewellery galleries. I make one-of-a-kind pieces. If I make ring, I
make a custom shank and a custom setting. A jewellery gallery that
wants to showcase the work of individual art jewellers are not going
to want the bog-standard inventory type rings made from manufactured
settings and shanks, etc - you can buy them anywhere. I want to make
things that you can’t get anywhere. You, as a bricks and mortar
jeweller have to carry the usual inventory type stuff and then you
have your one-of-a-kind and custom pieces where you make everything
from scratch, so of course you have occasions where it makes perfect
sense for you to order in shanks and settings. IF I ever become a
bricks and mortar jeweller and need the everyday inventory type
jewellery, then I too will be buying in shanks and settings. And
when I get repair jobs which require that sort of purchase, then of
course I will do so, but for now, buying in parts does NOT fit what
I’m doing - nothing to do with idealism - just to do with what I’m
making and how I want to sell it.

The real defining thing is duplication. If you get tubing and make
it taller or shorter or whatever than you can buy, then you are
doing something. If you are just duplicating a tube setting or a
solitaire in every way, well, you won't be working here.....

That’s the point, I’m not merely duplicating what I can buy,
although for the odd stone maybe I am. But generally, I’m not setting
calibrated stones and I don’t make plain ring shanks, etc. My ring
shanks are all different to what you can buy, be they planished
and/or bevelled, twisted square wire, etc, etc and the essence of
what I’m making and selling is handmade. Handmade is not bought bits
soldered together. I don’t make standard pendant settings either, or
standard earrings or bracelets. But that’s me, at the moment, in my
current situation. That may change in the future. It’s daft to say
that I’m not working smart by making my own settings and shanks, when
what I want to do is sell via jewellery galleries, as a maker of
handmade jewellery.

I’m NOT saying that my way is the only way and in fact have gone to
great efforts to say that there are many different types of
jewellers with many different ways of doing things, but I’m not sure
what else to say to explain where I’m coming from and why me making
my own shanks and settings is not poor business sense in my
situation. I hope you and others understand as I’m cringing a little
with repeating myself so much! :wink:

Helen
UK
http://www.hillsgems.co.uk
http://helensgems.ganoksin.com/blogs/

75 
I don't faff around with filing and sanding and scrubbing,

Ah, the color of the English language, faff, I’ll remember that one.

Speak about faffing around with prep…I see a lot written about
cleanliness of your metal. I don’t really bother. As long as its not
coated in old lady cosmetics crud it’ll solder OK, 'cept plat of
course.

OK, quiet afternoon in the store, yank the Bach, time for Pink
Floyd. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun.

Indeed.

76 
However, as with any of this type of discussion, it's not really as
simple as all that. Many responders to this type of post only see
one way to do things - their way -

Helen, we are in complete agreement. I want to be certain that when I
have said “you” on this thread, it is a generic you. And I really
think Helen has been raising some pretty real issues here. I guess
the thing I’ve been trying to get at is not to limit yourself
(whoever you are). I mentioned two people that I’ve seen grow over
the years lately. One was like many people here are, including Helen.
Craft shows, arty jewelry, $100 or less, creative and doing quite
well. Now she has a high fashion, high end fine jewelry line. I don’t
supply stores with diamond studs either, but since I’m in the jewelry
business people buy them from me, periodically. Knowing when to fish
and when to cut bait is one of the secrets of life. Saying, “I’m
always going to make silver stampings” means that’s exactly what you
are going to do. Saying, “Who knows what the future holds?” is much
more interesting. And you can never know too much at the jeweler’s
bench.

77 
Corundums can be dicey, even if you don't burn it now, you may have
embrittled it.

I disagree with Neil that it’s inappropriate to talk about soldering
diamonds on Orchid, as he said earlier. It’s an important part of
the diamond jewelry business. Just as some who use gold in place of
silver aren’t really goldsmithing at all - using gold with it’s own
unique properties in mind - handling diamonds as though they are
amethysts doesn’t make use of their unique properties. Meaning that
the properties of diamond make it possible to use them in ways no
other stones can be treated.

I do agree with him when he says it is pro level work. It’s easy to
do some things, and just as easy to have an expensive catastrophe if
you don’t ~really~ know what you are doing. His cautions are true
and important to understand. If one just torches a ruby or even a
diamond without ~really~ having the skill and knowlege… well,
let’s just say your kids might not get that college education…

The biggest problem with heating corundum, aside from oiling, heat
treatment and who knows what else, is boric acid etching - a well
known issue. If you coat your piece with boric acid dip and heat it
up - say to retip a sapphire - you might find the stone to have a
mosaic pattern etched into the stone. And yes, it is truly etched
into the stone, not a pattern laying on top, and it doesn’t always
happen to every stone. If you should want to heat corundum in a
piece of jewelry then dip it in boric acid/alcohol, burn it off, and
wipe off the stone thoroughly before torching it.

But even though I think heating with diamonds is an important method
to discuss, Neil’s cautions are maybe even more important, and all
true…

78 
I agree that that makes sense for you in your situation John. And
I don't think it's necessarily student and/or idealist stuff.

Helen, I already said something - you said something about needing
to explain yourself over and over… I don’t think you need to do
that - you’ve been saying some very pertinent things that I, for
one, have no disagreement with. The statement above isn’t pointed
your way at all, in particular. There IS a prevalent POV of
reinventing the wheel out of “artistic purity”, though. That’s fine
if your trust fund is your financing. My point is not to use
findings - making things yourself IS goldsmithing, as Helen aspires
to be. After awhile the novelty of making 4 prong melee settings
wears off…And they cost a quarter…

As for bezels in general… The problem with bench shears and paper
cutters is that it’s difficult to get a long, thin strip lined up
perfectly without a fence. It’s easy to get a long tapered strip,
not so easy to get a long, parallel-sided length of bezel. It can be
done, as a few have said… I use the rolling mill and it just puts
out bezel strip automatically. The more care you take to keep the
stock straight, the better it will be, and you’re not going to get
perfect stock like a mill product (which is made with slitters). It
does give a thickness at a width, though. That’s what it’s for…

Too tall bezels: file the bottom, solder it down, use dividers to
mark a line parallel to the base, and use a jeweler’s saw to cut it
around. Then just finish the edge… That’s what the saw is
for…

79

Helen,

Your technique of adjusting the heights and edges of bezels using
sand paper causes me pain. I use sand paper sometimes just before
polishing but not as a metal shaping tool. A file ( #4 a good
starting point) is my preferred tool for this sort of work. If you
want the top edge polished a lap and 3 seconds work well. But usually
I’m bevelling, hammering, burnishing, etc and a high finish gets
toasted. Set the stone with minimal metal damage and clean up with
gravers, fine files, rubber wheels, and polishing.

Bezels are easy, cut or construct a bearing and wack the metal over.
Pay attention to details but don’t think it to death. Unless you have
a hyper expensive delicate stone (and a day to spare) a pretty close
to good bearing is usually enough (and errors are concealed). Claw
work and a bad bearing shows light under the stone :frowning:

I think that I understand and support your approach to becoming a
goldsmith. Fun game, but be prepared for calluses on your fingers,
heart, and soul.

Jeff

80 
I disagree with Neil that it's inappropriate to talk about
soldering diamonds on Orchid

maybe I was a bit too boisterous. I don’t mean we can’t TALK about
it, I’m not that obnoxiously purist. I’ve done it myself many times.
Worked OK most of the time but when it goes bad it can be expensive
and potentially humiliating.

I once hired an “experienced” benchguy. Explained to him how I
wanted him to retip a plat set diamond. Use 20K white gold solder I
said. “Yeah, yeah, I know how to do it”, he quips back. So he uses
platinum solder instead.

After a long time trying to recompose myself, there I was stuck with
the problem. It didn’t just frost a little bit. It was downright
opaque. Ethics aside, there was no time to have it polished so I had
to buy the lady another stone. It was a caratish something so not
insignificant.

So the point of this little fond remembrance is that even an
experienced goldsmith can screw up big time when he only ‘thinks’ he
knows what he’s doing. I dunno, maybe he once before tipped with
platinum and got away with it, doesn’t sound logical but maybe he got
lucky. But skirting trouble in an operation once or twice is not a
guarantee that you will never have trouble. Tempt fate and it might
bite you.

I would suggest soldering as a setting technique be restricted to
only those occasions where there is no other way and the risk is
acceptable. As above, the ring ‘should’ have been retipped with no
difficulty at all if the jeweler had not assumed he could use
Technique A in Situation B. (Maybe he read somewhere to use plat
solder on platinum and so interpolated that ONLY plat solder should
be used in all cases and that dogma supercedes all else?) The problem
is that newbies reading Orchid may interpolate the procedure as OK
as a general rule in the way my example did. Or that it might be used
as an easy way out, when working on your setting skills would be much
more beneficial in the long run.

If the bezel punches work for someone, hey great, no bones from me
other than to state I didn’t like them. If you want an alternative
use a hammer handpiece or even just a curved burnisher and some sort
of rotating device, an engravers block or a benchmate. The key is
consistency. Or, instead of bending a tube bezel think about maybe
using much heavier stock and flush set that puppy, trim the outside
if you want a lighter look. If you’re doing a tube earring, maybe
solder the post then clamp the tube in a pirated Jacobs chuck
(insert a piece of tubing behind the tube to lend hammering support
while clearing the post) and go to town.