Errors in setting a "HALO"-ring!

Errors that can be made in a simple & basic "HALO" ring!

 An (average-quality) setter asked me to give him some work as he was needing setting & would I assist him? Well, I answered the 'call' and look what I saw after I closely examined his (mediocre) labour! Obviously, I haven't seen him since that time, just 2 years ago!
His brother is my favourite jeweller, but future Diamond Setting with this fellow is now "a thing of the past"!

There are some really serious errors in these 3 rings. Let's describe them in detail on just what happened & why?

BTW, I decided to scrap these 3 rings, instead of trying to fix all of the errors made trying in vain to correct. Remember, these 3 rings are only in silver (.925) and the c.z's were not correctly positioned in the metal and not too expensive! But my 'true dollar saving' is now in my time.

In this first photograph, you can see three stones and all 3 are set crooked! I'd actually break all 3, just to get them all re-set, not too mention ruining the claws in the process.
I'm looking at one of the white sapphire stones under the picture of the claw, it appears to be of an "8/8" cut. This means there are only '8 facets' above and 8 facets below each girdle of the stone. The rule of all Cubic Zirconia fabrication is now 57 facets in total!

 Just what happened to the 'missing' stone? It got lost somewhere in the 'sonic-cleaner'. Not too mention, the "Culet" was just rotating on the metal inside of the hole...YUK! (disgusting!)

One stone was set too high. The other two were sitting on an angle and the other was slightly lower! The stone on the far right was sitting inside of the halo-ring. 

The metal between the stones was not even cleaned or polished prior to the actual setting process! I think he used a Flat-Graver to 'dig in & slide' any metal over each stone, just to secure each stone.

All serious cleaning (and polishing, if needed) MUST DO DONE, when? The answer is NOW! 

The 'metal in between each stone' gave me the impression that setting care was not taken from the first moment he touched any of the metal. Even if the ring is silver, gold or Platinum.

"Absolute care must be administered at all times!"

In this photograph, you can see the mini-claws are just not sitting ON each stone. They just look like 'posts', or prongs standing up!

In this viewing, you can see that he 'over-polished' the 'end claws'. the result is that there is now no chance or possibility of having any detail remaining on these claws!

What would I do prior to setting any of the multitudes of stones? I'd prepare s pumice wheel and have it re-shaped to a finer point and this must have a 'clean-up' before any setting was to take place.

I might use a very fine pointed #006 Bud-bur and remove any offending pieces of metal in between the claw-tips. All kinds of pre-cleaning MUST BE DONE prior to any form of setting of stones.

 If you look under these two rings, what do you see? The CAD designer also made errors in his computer programming, namely undrilled holes for the "Culet" of these stones.

This setter chose to use a 'bead-burnisher' to push over any or all of the claws. But in this process, his heavy hand squeezed the tips and left a ridge around each claw. Another YUK!

All of his actual stone-setting was with the aid of a microscope! Don't tell me he missed all of the important points in just the basics of setting! BTW, this setter and many more these days, have no or little practical knowledge or experience of "Bright-Cutting".

 Many of my peers frown upon even thinking of 'cutting any designs' in the metal. 

gerrylewy18@gmail.com