Techniques of "Flush Setting" a gemstone? => 7 photos with diagrams

The variety of designs is almost endless. Some of these pictures of rings were obtained through Google.

If you can't read the above two pages, I suggest increasing the size of the font.

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 Here is my original drawing that I hand-drew many years ago. (I found it on the internet just now.)

1) The 'Table' of the stone must never exceed the surface of the metal.

2) The High Speed Steel burs are too aggressive to cut grooves.

3) The Carbide bur teeth are much closer together and are more 'gentle' to create seats for the stone.

4) NEVER LET THE 'CULET' (pointed section) PROTRUDE below the bottom of the ring. If you do, then your customer will actually feel the diamond cut into the skin. OOPS!

 1) After the stone has been set into the metal, remember to 'Bright Cut' the metal around the stone. This photo is the 'epitome of gemsetting perfection'.

2) This "Bright-Cutting" technique can be made with an Onglette graver that has been highly polished on the cutting side.

 3) Please do not use a 'Flat-shaped graver' as the blade might touch the Facets and leave a 'rippling edge' around the bezel.

4) I would personally use Pumice wheels and gently smooth all of the surfaces nearest to the stone. Use #180 grit, then followed by #1,000 grit. Then the ring will be a wonderful thing to behold.

 If you think that setting these many sizes of stones is easy, you are looking at 5 different sizes of gemstones.

 By the way, have the surface of the ring Tripoly-polished before stone setting. If you polish the metal after the stone setting, some of the stones might get loose! All that is needed is to 'gently' Rouge the surface.

 If you have aspirations of attempting to set these gemstones, think twice. Why? Those odd-shaped stones could be a real nightmare to the jeweller or novice setter.

 First, create the ring with the aid of CAD and use the computer-aided design program to guide you. There are many sizes & shapes of baguettes to contend with.

 Around each of these stones were a 'Bright-Cut' to visually finish the gemstone setting.

 If you need a library of 'additionally' selected Gypsy or Flush mounted stones just click on to "FLUSH SETTING".

 Instead of a ream of words for you to absorb, the above diagram is just for you. "Enjoy, read and learn." - Gerry Lewy.

 

What is a "Bead Raiser" & how does it work? => 6 photos

 This is what every Bead Raiser tool looks like under 100x power magnification. You will notice that the front of the graver point has been radically changed & reshaped. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.

 If you avoid this curved front, the 'beading tool' will just cut through the metal as if you were engraving. Which you aren't.

 If the graver was sharp and pointed, there would not be any opportunity to create a Bead for Pave purposes. This curved front acts like a spade as it pushes metal over the Girdle of the stone.

 If you decide to 'push' more metal over the Girdle, something will indeed happen. That little piece of bead metal will definitely break off!!!

 You have only one chance of making a Pave' bead.

 How do you know that the new Bead is going to hold the stone? This is done by seeing that 3-4 sections, or corners of the gemstone, will be covered by metal.

 Even in a reduced space, as seen here, even these new beads create a 'controlled pattern' or design.

  I prefer not to use a wide Onglette graver as seen in the lower example. For creating the correct shape (continually) of a bead, the best size of graver is the narrow blade.

 DON'T HAVE A 'HUGE MOUNTAIN OF METAL' COVERING THE SMALL STONE, when all you need is a thin blade. I strongly urge you to select a #2 Onglette width of a graver.

  If the new 'Bead Raiser' was shaped using a wide #4 Onglette, how could the setter create little 'beads'? Here is the proof of what I'm trying to show you. SIZE DOES COUNT!

(REVISED) "Casting with Gem Stones" =>12 photos & 8 text pages.

  This tutorial essay was published on this blog six years ago. I'm adding new text to each page for easier reading. This is one of the most interesting 8 pages any jeweller or caster can have in their library.

 This company has been in business since 1988. The owner, John Eisinger (R.I.P.), was the original owner of this company.

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 These days, 'CASTING WITH GEMSTONES' is no longer a myth, but an actual reality; it is now a working practice.

 On "Ganoksin", I often see instances where new jewellers need some helpful techniques to get started with their casting.

  

 

The wax pendant is now ready for casting. You can now see where the connection is, it is UNDER the pendant, not against the frame.

 By the way, the 'shrinkage factor' between the wax to the finished piece of jewellery is 6%. Always remember this number.

 I inked where the claws were 'untouched', the remainder of them are missing. If you want to fix then in metal, do so, but not in the wax form, if you do, more claws will break off.

 When you find that some of the claws are missing when you take the wax out of the rubber mold. Redo the injected wax AGAIN!!!

It is advisable to set this pendant AFTER the casting has been done. Your handling of the wax could damage the wax pattern.

These stones are too small, don't even consider using them.

 Even I would prefer to set these stones in the metal and forgo the idea of 'wax setting'.

 In this photo, I was initiating "Bright-Cutting", this technique cannot be done in the wax.

These stones are ready for insertion into the new wax form.

The warm (not hot) wax pen is gently preparing the stone, then the stone will be positioned into the wax.

 These quoted prices have drastically changed since the printing in 2006. Many manufacturers have their own labour prices.

 You have the option to make minor adjustments to the temperatures as needed.

  DON'T QUENCH YOUR HOT CRUCIBLE INTO COLD WATER, ONLY 'AIR COOL'.....please!

DO NOT 'CAST WITH GEMSTONES' IF THE "MOHS SCALE OF HARDNESS" IS BELOW SIX. A Genuine diamond is rated as 10.

View the list of delicate stones that shouldn't be used.

 I've inserted a photo of a 'Synthetic Emerald' showing what happens when a soft stone is used. Here is a white stone that was not prepared for 'stone setting' in wax.

 In this photo, 'was' a decent-looking stone, but the jeweller or operator made an error and placed his green stone into his wax. Here are his unfortunate results! Both the stone and the ring are now no longer usable. Sad to see this!

How to (gently) polish a silver ring? => 5 photos

  The first thing you must NEVER do is use a 'cloth wheel' to polish the ring. Why not? The chances of damaging the important centre stone claws are all too common.

 These particular wheels come in two sizes: 4-inch & 5-inch widths. These wheels can easily damage the delicate claws on these rings. "BUYER ALWAYS BE AWARE".

  This is my "Magnetic Tumbler", which gently tumbles these delicate rings by making contact with small steel pins inside the plastic beaker. These pins will tumble around in the jar and literally 'polish as it cleans'. For me, this is a 'life-saver'.

 In this great photo, after only 15 minutes, here are the 'before and after' views.

 Can you imagine buffing this ring without the "Magnetic Tumbling" action?

 'One picture is worth a thousand words'.

Colours of Diamonds - 1 page.

 The multitude of diamond colours will be described in this essay. Diamonds are separated into four distinct characteristics: CUT, COLOUR, CLARITY and CARAT.

 "Carat" is actually a weight measurement, but since the density of a diamond is quite constant, the weight can be reasonably translated into size. DO NOT MIX THIS NAME WITH 'KARAT'. Karat refers to the quality designation of gold, as in 18-karat gold.

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COLOUR: 

 "D - E - F". These are absolutely "colourless".                           

"G - H - I - J". These are "near colourless".

"K - L - M". These are "faint of colour".                 

"N - O - P - Q - R". Named "very light yellow".

"S - T - U -V- W - X - Y - Z".  Or "light yellow".

"Z". These have a "fancy yellow" colouring.

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CLARITY: 

FL. Means that these are "Flawless".

IF. These are "Internally Flawless".

VVS1, VVS2. These stones have "Very, Very Slight Inclusions".

VS1, VS2. The stones have "Very Slight Inclusions".

S1, S2. Means that there are "Slight Inclusions".

I1, I2, I3. These stones are named "Imperfect".

The above are observed under a 10x power magnification Loupe.

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SIZE:

In a round diamond, a 0.1 carat stone is equivalent to 3.0 mms or 0.118 inches. 

CUT:

'Cut' has the greatest influence on a diamond's fire & brilliance. A "Round Brilliant-Cut" diamond (RBC) has 58 facets. 

When it is well proportioned, this shape best shows the stone's brilliance because it allows the most light to be reflected back to the eye of the observer. Stones that appear lifeless or seem dark in the centre are named 'Poor Cut'.

When the relationship of the angle between the Crown and the Pavilion is correct, the rays of light entering the diamond strike the rear Facets at an angle greater than the critical angle of (24.5 degrees for a diamond) and reflect back to the eye of the observer. 

If the angle of the stone is cut too deeply, the light strikes the rear Facet at an angle less than <24.5 degrees, then the important light is lost through the sides of the stone.

If the stone is cut too shallow, the important light passes right through the diamond without being reflected back...and this appears to be a 'black diamond'. (I've personally seen this & it isn't nice to look at.)

Don't throw away your expensive bur.

 This essay was written about 2 decades ago in the "Bench" magazine. The essay describes why it's never good to throw away these expensive "High Speed Steel" burs. I always recut and resharpen them to give them a longer life.

  If the wording is too small, I suggest that you could reprint it in a larger font size and keep it in your own library...Gerry Lewy!

 The email address has been changed, and the weblink has been altered.

Go to: "gerrylewy18@gmail.com" https://gerrysdiamondsettingessays.blogspot.com

"GIA" names of Diamond Facets

 These are the "G.I.A.", the official names of the Diamond Facets.

Many times in my diamond setting years, I'd use them as a point of reference, and still do.