"GYPSY very detailed (FREE text & photos) Stone Setting" - 35 photos

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 This Level of Difficulty is 8.0 out of 10.

 This essay is to have you understand and appreciate the complexity of GYPSY gemstone setting. I don't show any 'shortcuts', when I was learning this craft 65 years ago, I only learned to do this one way, you are seeing it NOW! 

 So now sit back grab an English 'cuppa tea' or your choice of coffee. Enjoy & learn.

                           What tools should you have & use?

1) Hand-held hammer weighing 27 grams in weight.

2) Pillar file of #4 cut, 8 inches in length.

3) Triangular file  of #4 cut, 8 inches in length.

4) Right-Sided Onglette graver of  #2 in thickness (or width).

5) FLAT-faced Pumice Wheel of #240 grit. (7/8th inches in width.)

6) FLAT-faced (PINK) Pumice Wheel of #1,000 grit. (7/8th inches of thickness).

7) Steel mandrel (this is for the hammering process).

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  The very first thing should do is to remove any unwanted metal around the hole. This is where the Pavilion of the stone might be touching, for this alone I'd use a large Round bur just for this process.

 As you can see that the top of the hole is NOT ROUND. In this ring everything needs to be in near perfect condition or this setting won't be able to commence.

 I'd use a LARGE round bur just to clean the (ugly looking) opening. This bur is only to make the hole exactly round. If the stone is 5mm's in width, I'd use a round bur of exactly the same size to trim the top edge of the hole. Please be very gentle in the first cleaning of this project. There MUST NOT BE ANY ERRORS ANYWHERE!!!

If you need to fill-in with solder some of the errors from the casting, let's do it NOW.

Before you start the setting processes always select what size of stone you need. Please remember that any stone you choose must not protrude through the underneath of the ring. This will be "disaster waiting to happen" as the sharp point of the Culet will definitely cut into the wearers skin.

I made some critical errors (on purpose) just to show that a simple error will give you much of a headache, why is that?

 If the bearing that you made with your 156C 'undercutting bur' is not even with the surface of the ring, the stone will end up slanted and unable to be adjusted.

 As an important step before starting this setting is to polish away any rough edges anywhere in the ring.

Not only using your Tripoli compound, I suggest using your Rouge compound as well. Make this ring looking like a masterpiece, or as I write "A Piece of Art".

The bur to use should be a "156C" 'Bearing-Cutter', or 'Under-Cutting' bur. The letter "C" is an abbreviated name for Carbide steel.  

 In this photo, you can see the starting of the IMPORTANT Bearing preparation. This one simple action will allow the stone to sit flat and not be crooked.

 If you need to use your '10 power loupe' to check the level of the bearing, do this NOW.

 I always allow 1/3rd from the tip of the hole to be used for the hammering and filing. This will leave much metal for these important steps being shown further on.

From the tip of the "156C" bur-teeth this will give me the near exact depth that I need for my stone girdle resulting in a 'bearing'.

The bud shaped bur at approximately #10 in size. The Pavilion needs to be resting AGAINST the wall of the hole.

 In this photo you can now easily see where the teeth of the bur are now cutting. The bottom of the bur shaft should be resting at the surface of the metal.

 This is the 'ultra, close-up' of the bur-teeth in action.

 This photo shows that the bur is situated too high that will result in a bearing being also being made too high in the ring-hole.

 These teeth are going to cut a decent bearing once that it's at the appropriate depth.

 I think that it's prudent to cut a bearing at 1/3 increments around the hole. Your turning of the ring will give you a decent round circle inside the hole.

 Now that the stone is well positioned into the ring, we can now proceed onwards with the (important) hammering.

 My well 'often-used' hammer looks like this and it looks horrible for smooth hammering, don't you agree? 

When you are hammering with a hammer-face like this all of the marks get transferred to the metal around the stone.

 This is how the hammer-face SHOULD LOOK. I'm going to show you how to repair the hammer-face from these deep indentations. 

 

Just start with your Emery polishing paper of #240 grit and rub the steel hammer-head as it's shown in this photo.

Now with the #800 grit polishing paper, do the same rubbing until the steel is 'smooth as silk'. 

 If you don't clean the hammer-face, the hammer-face will look like this. This is not a pretty sight, do you agree?

 Those little indentions were transferred to the bezel and now the difficult work of 'cleaning the metal' has to start now. Those DEEP indentations have to be cleaned with an Emery paper board #240 grit.

 How and can you visualize where the hammer is hitting? This is my little invention, use a "black coloured marking pen" and paint the metal all around the bezel.

 Where the hammer 'hits', the ink will be easily removed, then you will see where the hammer is touching. Don't pound the metal down hard, all is needed is frequent 'little taps' on the edge of the bezel.

 

 I'd ask you to use your 10xpower loupe and examine if the metal is touching the stone. (Hopefully it will doing this all around the stone).  

 On every Gypsy Setting on any kind of metal, this Bright-Cutting should be initiated. It makes the setting look like that there is no longer any metal holding the stone.

 This effect will make your project look so professional, which it now is!

 

 (I borrowed this photo from an other essay) but you can see how & where the Onglette graver #2 that is highly polished on one side of the blade, this Bright-Cutting of the metal is against the inside the bezel wall.

 It now appears that the stone is lower than the surrounding metal. This will give security and safety to the Table Facets. 

 That is why heavy pounding from the hammer isn't warranted, as it will greatly reduce the important thickness of the metal.

 I'm now finishing the Gypsy Setting by using my Pumice Wheel initially a #240 grit with a FLAT Face.

 The very last thing that needs to be done is to use the PINK Pumice wheel of #1,000 grit. Now you can see how nicely the metal looks. Aren't you glad with the finishing of this Gypsy Bezel?