Preparing to set 'Princess-Cut', Genuine Emeralds. (11 photos)

 Of all gemstones on a setter's desk, Emeralds are the most delicate to work with. Breakage is very high on our list and can happen at any moment if care is not taken!

 On the "Mohs Scale" of softness, these are about 6.0 as a Diamond rate is at 10.0.

 As a lifelong gemstone setter, I give full respect to these delicate stones. In the following photos, you will observe that there is little space between each of them. The spacing is to prevent any touching along the "Girdles". 

 If two stones touch during the setting process, both of the stones could chip, or shatter.

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 You can see that much of the metal is covering the Girdle on each stone.

I used my Flat #40 graver to Bright-Cut the metal where it is touching the stone. 

DO NOT USE A FILE, why? The chances of chipping the stone in this simple process are phenomenally high.
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 The Scale of Difficulty on this exercise is 9+ out of 10.

  Already on two stones, there are three defects, I left the stones in the ring just to show you what can happen.

 

 As always, pre-polishing of Emerald rings is a 100% necessity. After the delicate setting, a light Rouging may be done.

 Always 'test and observe' how each of the stones will be sitting. For this ring, I set two of them slightly crooked just to show how simple errors can often happen. How did this error occur? The inside bearings were not aligned on both ends and were not prepared equally.

 In this particular ring display, these stones are set in an "End Bezel" design. All of these stones have a full amount of metal covering the Girdle. Kindly observe how much metal is over and protecting each stone. Please do not file this 'extra metal' away.

 

 Which of these 5 stones would you set first? I always start with the centre stone first and work my placement towards the end of the End-Bezels.

 I used a saw blade of #4/0 cut to separate the metal to make it easier to set these 'delicate' stones. I used a bud bur to cut a 'bearing' as where the Girdles will eventually sit. The thickness of the bur is dictated by measuring the widest width of the Girdle.

 (I might suggest from my own experience you could use #006 or #007.)

 

 If you use a round bur, you might find it difficult to carve a straight line. PLEASE USE A BUD-SHAPED BUR.

  Any filing must be done now, as once the stone is in you could easily damage the stone.

 Remember that even the Pavillion of the stone needs to be attended to. Remove all of the metal where the stone will & could be touching. Carve out the inner 4 corners of EACH opening.

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS IN THIS KIND OF EMERALD SETTING.

 Never assume that "Oh it's okay, the stone will fit" many times it won't. I always carve extra areas just in case I miss a spot. (we are human and mistakes can happen). "Mistakes with Princess-Cut, Emeralds" can be so very costly.

 

 All the stones should be of the same width on all of the 4 sides. If one of your stones is larger, place it in the centre, why? This is just for aesthetic reasons, the eye will gravitate to the centre and move towards the end of the End-Bezels. (This is human nature).

 

 I'm looking at this photo again, the two stones on the far right ARE LARGER.

 The stone on the second from the left is a tad SMALLER. 

  Do you want to try setting this ultra-expensive ($12,000+) Pear-shaped, Genuine Emerald? I rated this setting at a 35+ out of 10, on my "Difficulty Scale".

 Any questions for me? Email me at 'gerrylewy18@gmail.com'