Complete '3-Bezel Setting' ring => 36 photos

 In my previous essay (posted on March 10th) about a 3-Bezel setting ring, I only touched upon the 'last stages of setting' with the 3 stones. In this essay, I'll be showing the COMPLETE setting process.

 Sit back, grab yourself a coffee or a 'cuppa English tea' and let me explain these many steps. BTW, (I'm English by birth).

 This first step is to clean every area as to where the Pavilion of the stone will be resting against.

 There must not be any extra pieces of remaining from the metal casting process.

 With a small round bur please prepare a seat for the Girdle of the stone to rest against. This bur should be larger than the Girdle of the stone, preferably not the same size of the Girdle Facets.

  These three new bearings are what we are aiming for.

 What are the sizes of the round burs and how do 'we decide' what size to choose?

 1) This stone is the located on the 'outside of the 3 stones' on the bezel.

2) This center stone is slightly larger of the 3 stones selected. Don't forget to use a round bur that is slightly larger than the Girdle. A tight fitting stone will definitely break during the intense hammering being subjected to the stones.

3) This stone will be the same size as the first stone 'we' picked.

 As I want the the 'tube setting' to easily accept all of these 3 stones it is imperative to widen the tube opening. We will endeavour to 'close up the gap' during the hammering processes.

 I placed all three stones into their respective 'tubes'. I wanted to ensure that there were 'no overlapping of Girdles' =>anywhere! Making sure that all three stones are not grinding against each other. This is a serious setting project and 'no errors or mistakes' are permitted. As I always write, 'shortcuts' are not in our vocabulary.

                       'Hammering Section' of this essay.

  I will never, never push the metal over the bezel with a 'hand pusher'. The selected technique is to use a 'Reciprocating Hammer' as the anvil can be rotated (if required) to have a wide or narrow hitting position. (This is seen in the next few photos).

  Do not allow the 'hitting anvil' to come in contact with the stone.

 If this was a genuine stone, or an expensive diamond, there will be an exorbitant amount of money to pay again.

 

  Always keep the hammered bezel top at a '45degree' angle.

 If there is a definite 'lip' of metal not touching the stone, leave it alone! (This seen on the middle stone.)

  'Don't pound the guts of the bezel on to the stone'. In other words, don't flatten the bezel tip, we need the thickness of the metal for 'trimming and finishing'.

 In my inspection of this bezel, THE METAL APPEARS TO BE TOO THIN.

 What happened here? The bezel that is covering the two stones was never hammered completely. THIS IS INDEED AN ERROR!

 These 3 stones are Cubic Zirconia, and you can see the embossed engraving of the stone manufacturer's trademark on each one.

  The trademark engraving is "SWAROVSKI-ZIRCONIA"

                    

                                    "Bright-Cutting process"

   This "finishing" process is next on our list of things 'to do'. 

 The highly polished graver blade is the best tool for bright-cutting. DON'T USE A FLAT GRAVER, as this graver will leave a faceted edge all around the stone.

 

 In using your Onglette graver, initialize your metal cutting in a circle around the stone. Let the angle of the blade allow you to cut at an angle of 30degrees, this will give you a near perfect cut.

 

  Don't let the point of the graver touch the facets, if this happens, you will have a 'rippling' effect. (This will take much practice.)

  When you finish this (difficult) metal cutting, I suggest you stop the metal cutting and proceed to the 'finishing stages'.

 I think that it is now prudent to use your saw-blade #4/0 grit and make a well-defined cut in between the 3 round bezels. Why is this required? The 'three joined' bezels will now be almost individual tubes.

  Please exercise in using your Triangular file of #4 grit and file these nearly looking like 'tubes'. Let's continue in making the tubes almost perfectly ROUND.

  This next step should be done with the utmost care in filing this bezel ring. Remember to file at a 45-degree angle.

 With your tapered Pumice Wheels of #180 grit, complete the finishing 'filing and cleaning' where necessary.

 

 For identification purposes, I inked all the files as shown. "IIII" relates to a #4 grit and of course "II" refers to a #2 grade of file.

  As I don't want any ring movement during this delicate filing. I put this ring into my 'screw-type' of a rigid ring clamp.

 I suggest to complete all of the Pumice Wheel trimming for the top of the tubes.

 Just a 'footnote': Keep the 'tube tops' round and also not make the bezel tops too wide.

  This is not an easy project to complete, this has a "Difficulty Rating of 8, out of 10".

           POLISHING YOUR ONGLETTE GRAVER

 I use a series of emery and Polishing papers to create a smooth and well-defined surface for 'Bright-Cutting'. I'm using an Emery Paper #400 grit to remove any rough spots on the side of the blade. 

 I have an option of using either #800 or a #1,000 grade of Polishing Paper to create a highly smoothed cutting blade. This will give our ring a fantastic and a bright cutting surface. 

 Only a superb and highly polished blade will give you a "Bright-Cutting" finish. This blade is meant to cut bright on one side as shown here in this photo.

  

  In closing, this ring bezel still needs some gentle filing to make the tips of the 3 tubes uniform in width.

  Remember to keep the top of the bezel not too wide, as seen here. In my estimation, this is not an easy project to work on.