Setting portrait cut stones

I’ve been asked to set some portrait cut stones with prongs. I am fairly new to this type of jewelry making as mostly I have been asked to do bezel set stones.

I don’t have the ability to go take classes in person right now, but I’m curious what you suggest I do or watch or read to gather information so that I can practice on my own at this time.

Are there other types of settings that I could Google the process for to adapt skills and techniques?

The stone is kind of a truncated diamond shape.

Some people also call them tablet cut stones.

Thanks!

Hi,

my niece just got a pair of portrait cut diamond earrings…
each stone was a slightly different 5 sided pentagon shape…

there is no real culet…but there is a girdle

they were each set in a 10-prong setting with a single gallery rail

her goal was “flatter” earrings

they look great

julie

I’ve never seen a portrait cut stone, but after googling it, it kind of looks like a rose cut cabochon which is my new favorite stone shape. Rose cut cabs are basically faceted cabochons and are fun to set.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find good multiple view images of a portrait shape stone. Can you take some multiple view shots of your stone or stones?

Thanks!

Jeff

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hi
here is a photo of an instagram post with a video showing the different views of a oair if earrings with portrait cut stones…links dont seem to post correctly…you can search for their account…

vakjewels

julie

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I’ll get some photos tomorrow when I am back at the bench!

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Hi,

my nieces were set in a martini style 10 prong setting. with one rail…martini settings come to a sort of point where the post is attached

the portrait cut diamond doesnt have a deep pavillion, so they allow for a flatter profile

julie

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Sorry for the delay… Busy life!

Here’s a look at portrait stones. I’m setting them in a signet style ring top.

My stone is similar to the circled stone.

My current plan is to make a small raised bezel/setting and then add four prongs.
Any advice is appreciated!

Hi,

my thoughts…investigate how the stone will look when set…ie: what will you “see”…what do you “want” to see…

it will be somewhat like looking thru a glass window, as there are no facets on the bottom…it is a wide open culet of sorts…

julie

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In order to really answer your question I also need to see the back and side views of the stone.

But with the info that I have, I think this will be like a regular faceted stone setting without having a deep area to protect the culet. The stone seat will rest a little way past the girdle.

The only large diamond that I ever broke in my career was a marquise shape diamond. It was a tough way to learn the lesson of how brittle the end points on a marquise shape are! Those points will be easy to break off during the setting process. The points should also be protected so the wearer won’t break them off by bumping into random hard surfaces.

Here’s a video that shows what I mean by protecting the end points.

Let’s see what others say. There are a lot of amazing stonesetters with decades of experience on the forum.

Jeff

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Thanks so much Jeff. That’s really helpful

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