Stone Setting: An inside look at Bezel settings

Have you taken a peek lately at your jewelry? How are the stones and gems set (or held in) on the design?

There are a variety of ways to set stones in metal. Bezel setting is perfect for cabochons (gemstones that are cut flat on the bottom). And it is my GO-TO process!

I start with a bezel strip. This is normally fine silver but I have also use sterling silver when I want to use a thicker ‘frame’ around the stone. The silver strip must be tall enough to encase the stone but not too tall so that it distorts in the finishing process! The silver strip is wrapped around the stone, so that it fits snugly. Then the strip is soldered shut. After cleaning, filing away the excess solder and making sure the stone still fits, the finished bezel is soldered to a backplate.

This particular design features a fancy bezel. It allow me to give the stone a wrapped effect, while holding it in place snugly!

Of course there is an art to this.

Over the years I have managed to solder the bezel upside down, made the strip too long or too short and have the finished piece be too small for the stone! This creates a lot of wasted silver. Some can be recycled but there is still an element of waste that cannot be recouped.

That being said, I LOVE this process and have experimented with different types of strips, have created my own strips with texturing and much more.