Setting cameos

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi, all,

I have a cameo to set for a customer and have never done one
before. I assume that they break easily and was wondering if
anyone had any words of wisdom for me before I attempt this.
Naturally, the cameo is dripping with sentimental value and I
don’t want to damage it.

Thanks in advance.

Sharon

2

I have a cameo to set for a customer and have never done one
before. I assume that they break easily

Hi Sharon, Is it a shell cameo? If it is, it’s impossible to set
it as it will break at once. What we do is to make a bezel
fitting -not too- tightly around the cameo, with a 1mm square
wire inside one edge as a rest. The bezel is made high enough so
no point of the cameo protrudes above the edge. The cameo is
inserted and the contour of it marked on the inner side of the
bezel. After removing the cameo, the bezel is sawn/filed down to
the marking, and when the whole setting is finished, the cameo
is glued in. Hope this is of any help, Markus

3

Hello, and thanks to all who gave me advise on setting cameos.
Sorry I’m so late with the gratitude, but I have been swamped
with work for the last two weeks. I’m finally starting to catch
up. The setting went fine up until I was doing a final polish
and the bezel in one area tore. I guess it was a little too
thin. The customer is going to bring it back after she gives it
to her daughter and I get to do this all over again. Oh Joy!
Such fun we have.

Have a great day!

Sharon

4 
I have a cameo to set for a customer and have never done one
before. I assume that they break easily and was wondering if
anyone had any words of wisdom for me before I attempt this. 
Naturally, the cameo is dripping with sentimental value and I
don't want to damage it.

Personally, I use a thin bezel with a round wire bearing

contoured to fit the back of the stone. A close fit. Taper the
upper edge as one might hammer set it Actually, hammer setting
is okay, although I will usually take a burnisher to it.
Although shell cameo is soft, it also flexes considerably. That
doesn’t mean to abuse it. It just means that it’s relatively
safe.Scratches can be polished out with tripoli and rouge.

I gave one of these to my six month apprentice a couple of weeks

ago and he did a reasonably good job. Good luck

5

hi sharon, set it already! you’re quick! didja glue it? i believe
glue is an alternative to be used when there are no
alternatives. i’m sure you know by now, there are alternatives
available.

if you are using silver there is probably no need to thin the
bezel out.

if your cameo is old it is probably curved on the bottom, you
can make nice bearing surface for it by wrapping bezel wire
around it in the usual way and scribe it from the bottom and
then cut along the scribed line.shorten the bezel wire by
calculation or fidgeting with it to fit inside the ‘outer
circumfrence’ bezel that is already soldered shut. solder the
’inner’ bezel shut. check for air between the cameo and the
inner bezel and file as neccessary to eliminate the air. slip
the inner bezel into the outer, align it so you’ll still have
enough metal to bend over after you solder it. i hope all this
makes sense.

geo fox

6

My teach always says you don’t want to see the piece again do
you?? So make it strong the first time… Sounds good to me and
so i have been making bezels a little fatter and the piece a
little stronger… Works out better… I don’t get the piece back
again… calgang good luck the second time around…

7

My teach always says you don’t want to see the piece again do
you?? So make it strong the first time… Sounds good to me and
so i have been making bezels a little fatter and the piece a
little stronger… Works out better… I don’t get the piece back
again… calgang good luck the second time around…

Thanks for the words of wisdom. There is a balance somewhere
between breaking the cameo and having the bezel too thin. Like
everything else, I need to practice, practice, practice. I’m
going to try starting out with a higher gauge bezel wire, so I
don’t have to thin it. I might even go to 18k.(OK, so I’m a
coward!) At least I was lucky enough to have a cameo with a flat
rim around the bottom and a relatively even thickness along the
edge.

HAve a great day!

Sharon Ziemek
GoldStones, Inc.