Setting a Marquise-shaped stone - 17 photos

 There is much to read & learn, you can easily see that this ring needs a lot of 'cleaning' before setting any of these gemstones. 

Rate of Difficulty for a "Bezel Ring" @ 8.5 and "Claw Setting" I'd rate this @ 6.0.

 Clean out the inside of the bezel until all of the residue or unwanted metal has been removed. The bezel must be free of any metal that doesn't need to be there, understood?

 I use a round bur that exceeds the actual thickness of the Girdle. There are some sections of the Girdle that may not be equal in all areas around the stone. Be aware of this point at all times.

  I use a "High Speed Steel" bur, otherwise known as a "HSS". This bur prepares the Pavilion of the stone that will enable the stone to sit comfortable in its setting.

 Here is the stone now sitting in its 'new home'. Our job now is to prepare for the bezel walls to be hammered over the stone's Girdle.

 The "hammering schedule" is now about to start. I use a "riveting hammer" to start the tightening stage. I'm putting the 'hammer hitting' directly on the mid-point of the stone.

 You notice that I never allow the hammer to pound the metal at the two ends of the bezel. BUT I ALLOW THE METAL TO COME CLOSE TO THE POINTS.

 I will use my "Reciprocating Hammer" to GENTLY lower the metal down and towards the ends of the stone. The bezel tip must be even all around with no high-points, anywhere.

 Once that the hammering has been completed, I will file all of 'hitting marks' as only then can this be done at this stage. This ends the 'securing and tightening' stage to the Marquise Shaped Bezel.

 Very few of my gemstone setters "Bright-Cut" the inside of the bezel. Hopefully you should attempt this next stage in the finishing yourself. 

 DON'T USE A FLAT GRAVER IN THIS "BRIGHT-CUTTING" PROCESS. I suggest you should use ONLY an "Onglette #2, Right-Sided graver". This tool will give you a remarkable finish to your bezel, trust me!

 BTW. This is my 'greatly modified' Onglette graver. I designed the new shape on my bench grinder, as this was not bought with these unusual modifications.

    In this photo you can see the 'before & after' views.

  We've finished with the "Bezel Setting", now starts the "Claw-Setting" aspect of setting the same stone shapes.

 The ends of the stone must fit into the claws of the ring. I'd use a round bur that is slightly larger then the Girdle of the stone, at the point.

   As you can see that all of the claws have been GENTLY moved over the stone.

  After using my "Snap-On, EMERY Wheel, MEDIUM grade" make sure that all of the claw tips are of the same height.

 All of the claw tips MUST BE SMOOTH TO THE TOUCH. I'd use my finger to feel if there aren't any sharp edges anywhere. 

Then afterwards, the shoulder stones may be set and then carefully polished.

  All of the claws must be positioned on the ring at equal spacing. Is this a critical stage in this setting? YOU DECIDE!