Cut Diamond Ring Solitaire Trillion, Quickie Question(s) on Setting Gemstones.. ?
Q.I've been trying to find as much info as I can on gemstone setting. I'm pretty unknowledgeable about the lingo, and am also intimidated by the fact that you have to 'cut' the prongs to fit the stone, etc. Actually, I don't know how you all pull it off. I'm going to start off with the pre-notched settings and am currently looking for some semblance of instruction as to how to get "real" with it after I play with that. Besides appreciating in advance any good website links/photos about the process (just to get an understanding on what's involved)... My question is... How long (time-wise) does it take you to set a basic solitaire? How about a fairly basic 3 stone ring? I have zero idea if it takes minutes, hours, or days and would appreciate getting an understanding on the work involved.
A.there are several good books out on the subject. I kinda like Walter Zeiss's book, as well as Wooding's various books on diamond setting. These will help you get started. But the best teachers are: experience, and another setter who can watch you work and show you the little tricks. Also, if you're really serious about this, consider taking a course. the GIA setting courses are pricey, but quite good. And I've heard lots of good things about Blaine Lewis's New Approach school. And Alan Revere's school always has top notch folks. Well, if it were totally simple and didn't need some practice to do, it would be harder for us to make an actual profession out of setting work. But it's really not that complicated to understand. One has to cut the metal so that it fits the stone, giving it proper support, or else in bending prongs over one won't be clamping the stone to a stable and solid position, and if the seat is not well fitted to the stone, then there's also a greatly increased chance of breaking or chipping the stone, or of it's coming loose at a later time. One needs simply to fit the stone to the prongs, bezel, or channel, or whatever one is setting into, and as well shape the metal so it can then be bend or hammered or otherwise worked over the stone to hold it securely, without damaging it in the process. In some shapes and styles of settings, this is very simple and quick to do. In others, it's exacting, picky, and time consuming. Pre notched settings can be good initial practice, but understand that they're never quite a perfect fit to the stone, and in order for that to work, the prongs usually are somewhat lighter in weight than better quality settings, so the pre notched prong can flex a little to compensate for an imperfectly fitted seat. It can be fine for lighter duty jewelery, like earrings, but wont be quite a strong or long lasting. Still, it's a fine way to "get your feet wet"... This can vary a lot, depending on how well the stone is cut, what shape it is, and the style and metal of the setting. But the simplest of them can be set in a few minutes, if even that. More complex settings, usually on fancy shapes, or unusual setting styles, or things where there's more involved than just getting the stone into the setting the easiest way, may take considerably longer, as in maybe an hour, or sometimes more. With high value larger stones, one might take considerably longer time, as well as with more fragile stones, like many of the colored stones. The simplest of these wouldn't be more complex than doing three of those simple solitaires, and might be quite quick, IF the stones are properly matched, and properly sized to the setting, and things like that. The main difference with a multi stone ring is that settings must be matched in position/angle and height to the other stones in the ring in order to get good symmetry, spacing between stones, and the like. But these can vary a lot with time and difficulty. Some might take fifteen minutes or less to set, and others might take several hours. There's a vast difference between a three stone ring set with three equal sized round diamonds in a row, all the same height, in standard 4 prong die struck individual heads just the right size for the stones, and, say, a three stone ring with a large emerald cut (with an uneven, very deep pavilion) stone in the middle with side half moon or trillion shaped diamonds which don't quite fit the prongs as well as one would like, and who's inner edge has to be fitted into the side wall of the center stones's head as well as into the too thin side prongs for them, and must all match up when done. This, despite the fact that one trillion is kind thin in the girdle and overall cutting, and the other, which is a tenth of a millimeter narrower across one end but a little longer in the other direction, and which has a full millimeter thick girdle, a thin crown, deep pavilion, and which in sum, doesn't well match the other trillion except from the face up view, but which was all the salesperson could quickly locate to fit the customer's budget. And now you're the setter who has to get these things to look matched in the slightly undersizes 18K white gold ring mounting... You're gonna need several hours on some of these problems, and perhaps a couple vallium too. The type of stone will make a big difference too. I know one setter, known for the fact that he's very careful, and as a result, almost never damages the valuable stones, who can easily spend several hours carefully fitting the seat on a larger fancy colored stone going into, say, a heavy bezel, and then several more hours gently hammering and working the bezel down, one little tap at a time. His results are reliable and well above average, But he sure takes his time. His boss, however, never complains about the time it takes...
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