Channel Set Rings - (Instructions with each photo) => 24 photos

 Channel Setting looks easy, but it isn't. The difficulty is in the placement of the gemstones.

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 When I finish setting the stones, I make a genuine habit of "Bright Cutting" the inner wall of metal. This will clean any rough metal that is remaining where the hammering took place. 

  I will 'ink' exactly where the center of the channel wall is located. From this point, I have a center point where to set the stones. 

 You can now see the 'Bright Cutting' along the inner wall. This process will allow the stones to look larger and there won't be any metal appearing to be covering the stones. 

 You can see that I haven't put my hammer anvil any closer than what is shown here, why is that?

 I want the Square "Princess cut" stones to be seen with no or little spaces in between any of them.

  It appears that the intense hammering broke one stone, why did this happen? The answer is quite simple.

 The hammering hit the corner of the stone, and it had to be replaced immediately. The hammer anvil was vibrating fiercely on the metal, and this also shattered the stone. 

 

After many attempts to tighten the stones there might have some flat spots appearing on the top of the channel wall.

1) This can be easily repaired by using a file of #4 grit and round the top of the channel wall.  

2) The other suggestion is to very lightly hammer the top of the channel wall, thus making the two channel walls smooth again. 

 Here is a great photo of the hammer anvil not getting too close to the delicate stone.

 The anvil IS NOT HITTING THE METAL; IT IS ACTUALLY MOVING THE METAL 'AGAINST AND OVER THE GIRDLE' OF THE STONE.

 Every channel in this ring needs to be polished before any stones are set. Obviously, the polishing wheel can't gain access when the stones are already in the ring, agree?

 In my photographs of burs preparing to set a stone, this photo is high on my list.

 You can see the teeth of the bur preparing to cut a seat in the metal for the stone. But the first thing is to clean the hole and including the Pavilion area where the stone will be soon sitting. I would even pre-polish the inner-channel wall.

 Which of these two stones gets to be set first? I will always suggest that the top stone, that is nearest to the center stone setting gets set first.

 

  When you are setting square stones, it is always nice to keep a little space in between the stones. The chances of stone breakage are somewhat high. How wide should the space between each stone be? Let me suggest this to be the thickness of a sheet of paper.

 The reason of this, is if you decide on hammering any of the stones, the vibration could and will cause severe breakage to any of the precious stones.

 

 When I was learning my apprenticeship about 65+ years ago, my teacher introduced me to Bright Cutting after every stone setting procedure that was completed.

 Here too is another reason to finish the stone setting, it makes the whole process looking just BEAUTIFUL. 

 Which "Princess-Cut" stone is to be set first, any guesses?

 My answer is simple and to the point, the first stone should be the top stone nearest to the tip of the pendant (where the chain is to slide through).

Again, I would hasten to suggest that it would be nice if the inner settings were Bright Cut. This will make the appearance of having larger stones. 

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  There are two major problems here, which are 'a defect in the wax preparation'. I recommend them to be repaired NOW, even before any stone setting is to commence.

 There is a hole in the channel wall, and the end-setting-hole is plugged up with metal.

 If any rings have an 'End Bezel', it is important to the stones be well covered equally of metal. The reason is that the width of each bezel top, be uniform all around the ring.

 It is also nice to the file the 'End Bezel' ends and make each bezel look like claws, (as shown here).

There are two things to watch for:

1) Pre-polish (Rouge) the inside channel setting with a cloth polishing wheel.

2) Try and avoid that any stones are touching each other. As breakage might occur.

 You will notice that the "Reciprocating Hammer Anvil" is making contact in a 'wide' position.

 The anvil MUST NEVER GET CLOSE TO THE DELICATE STONES. The 'hitting' is basically MOVING THE METAL AGAINST & OVER THE STONE.

 In this photo, you will notice that there is space between the stones. The vibration caused by the hammer anvil might shatter the stones at the Girdle Facet.

 It is imperative to leave a little space in between them all.

 

 The wedding band should be fully set first, then polished and soldered to the engagement ring.

 This jeweller had no idea whatsoever how to set baguette stones. They are crooked & poorly set; in fact, one stone fell out.

 The 'shoulder stones' in this ring MUST BE SET INDEPENDENT to the rest of the ring. If not, any subsequent stone setting labour might loosen the 'cluster top' collection. Basically, the cluster top should be set separately and then soldered together. Thus, making this ring be a 3-piece combination.

 Before any finishing of this 3-piece ring set, it is advisable to polish the Channel Setting ring, completely. Each of the 3 pieces should be individually cleaned, set and polished. the last thing to do is to solder the 3 rings together.

 

Where will all of the "Beads" be positioned? =>17 photos

 These techniques are not just random digging into metal to hold a stone. There are myriad rules to follow. 

 In this tutorial essay, I will display them in near sequential order.

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 I looked at the initial layout of the Garnets, Blue Sapphire and Diamonds. I first started to plan the entire ring in my mind.

 In this first layout of precious stones, we are looking for a uniformity of colours and sizes.

The second thing 'we' must examine is the 'spacing' of gemstones. This is not a 'guessing game', but a very serious 'plan of attack'.

The four diamonds must not be placed at the corners, but placed further in from the corners. Why is this? I need room for the 'corner beads' and room to cut around the metal. 

              

 I'm using only 3 beads as shown in this photo. These beads are placed that will ensure a good chance of cutting a pattern that will be visually appealing.

  I used my Onglet graver #2 with a rounded point to create these Beads. REMEMBER: THAT THESE BEADS MUST COVER THE GIRDLE OF THE STONE.

 The stone must be in the hole and with NO SPACES ALLOWED.

    WOOPS! Some of these beads are in correctly placed. This is an error on my behalf, but additional labour will cover up these errors. Thankfully! 

 I keep all of my setting tools in close proximity to my setting & working area.

 Always look and check for uniformity of the colour and sizes.                                This is so very critical right now.  

 The top left corner stone is 'too light', and on either side of it are two stones that are 'too dark'. => Always check for uniformity!!!

 The two bigger holes are not correctly placed, therefore the better placements are lightly drilled. These are the holes that will be used.

 In this photo shows EXACTLY WHAT THESE HOLES LOOK LIKE, interesting, eh?

 

  Always drill the hole extra deep & large for the Pavilion of the stone.

  I suggest NOW removing the 'sliver of metal' between any of the stones.

 

  I exchanged all of the stones that were not of equal colour. Now these eight stones look GREAT!

  As you can see why I place the beads just at the corners. That one bead makes the corners more exacting.

 I placed many little 'mini beads' in and around the center stone. 

 Instead of filing the outside of the metal frame, I thought of using my Onglet graver and cutting another thin line.

 Just to hide any misplaced beads, I camouflaged all of them with little round bur indentations.

 

What is "Angled, 2-Bead Metal Carving"? =>13 photos

 This pattern is seen between the gemstones; there will be ONLY TWO BEADS holding EACH gemstone.

 I will be using a Flat graver of #40 width extensively. All of this metal cutting is done long before any stones are set.

The metal cuttings are showing that the graver blade is not fully polished. There are lines along the edge, and this is not acceptable.

 The metal cutting is not 'black', but only a reflection of the light bouncing from the Bright-Cutting.

 This is the first photo showing the 'angled cutting'.

 To cut this particular pattern, it is best to use a Flat graver of #40 width. A number #42 is too wide to access any small area. Be careful. You can observe the start of the flat cutting.

 This is a great photo showing the 'in-between, angled cuts', where the stones will finally be set. There are no lines in the metal from a poorly polished Flat graver tip. 

The quality of graver polishing is 100% paramount, as there is no opportunity to repair any metal-cutting tool a second time.

 The preliminary 'rough cutting' is shown in this photo. Those little triangles will eventually be 'beads' to hold each stone. We are working now solely in the 'Bright-Cutting' process.

 The long line of carving needs to be created DEEP and must maintain a very DEEP cut.

 The reason is that the sharp graver must always be able to create this delicate pattern. 

 While the graver is cutting, the graver point should enter the hole.

 When the graver is cutting into the hole, it is basically preparing an exact space for the stone. Any remaining metal must be removed while the metal is being prepared for Bright-Cutting.

  ALWAYS CUT THE METAL AS DEEP AS YOU CAN. Shallow cuts are not needed here.

 If the in-between space is too wide, I'd easily cut double lines, as 'one extra line will serve as decoration'.

 

 The FLAT graver is only used for the angled cuts. I will use a highly-polished side on my Onglet graver to Bright-Cut the outside curved design.

 To enhance and polish the two gravers, I suggest using a 'Polishing Paper of #800 grit', as this will keep your gravers in pristine condition at all times. I'm placing my Flat graver carefully on the polishing paper.

 The background displays the heart pendant just after the casting.

 Many essays that I'm displaying are not always about stone setting. I prefer to emphasize tool maintenance as well.