Diamonds IN YOUR TEETH ??? => 30 photos.

 I'm not a dentist, nor a dental technician, but here are some interesting 'dental photos' for you. (Sorry! These photos are not in any sequential order.)

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  As these teeth were of different sizes, I had no idea at the beginning of this project how many diamonds I would really need.

  Here are two more photos of fully endowed tooth coverings of diamonds & gold.

  In every tooth, I'll place one of the larger 'selected' diamonds in the centre. In a symmetrical order, I'd arrange 8 diamonds from the centre going outwards.

  I'd need a series of huge groups of diamonds around the centre stone. Most of the sizes are shown here.

  After I set the centre diamond, I will predrill holes for each of the surrounding 4 stones. This one action is the next stage of setting all gemstones. 

 I'd arrange one stone to be aiming for the 'top of the curve' tooth.

 

  The 'beading process' is quite essential for laying out the numerous gemstones further on.

 Already, you can see one hole needs another diamond. This one stone will be placed in the right corner of the tooth. Security is essential for all of the diamonds.

 At the bottom of each tooth, where there is a straight area, I'd cut a straight line with my Onglete graver.

  

 There are 8 'predrilled holes' in EACH TOOTH. I'd use these deep markings to position the 'twist drill' before the drilling of the stones.

  Once all of the teeth have these centre stones set, I'd advance the positioning for the next phase of stone setting.

  As I am positioning the row of teeth on the shellac stick. You can see the centre diamond being positioned. All of the teeth are of different sizes, and because of this, the required number of stones varies accordingly.

 

 Each tooth will require a different number of diamonds. Accuracy in spacing is a priority, and (vague) guessing is not desired.

 There is no opportunity to have any spaces in between any of the diamonds. The 'Bead (rounding) Burnishing' process is essential on every gemstone. Each bead must be over the 'Girdle Facet'.

 As some teeth are Round and Oval in shape, it's essential to maintain that diamond symmetry throughout all of the teeth. SIZE & SHAPE WILL DIFFER WITH EVERY TOOTH. 

  With my shellac stick, I'll rest the wooden dowel against my bench-peg. I didn't want my hand to get tired, even after 20 minutes, as this can be tiring. Concentration is also tiring; take a rest as often as you can.

 I'll place a new row of  'beads' between the first row. I'll call this 'alternating row of beads to diamonds'.

 I never lay my burs all over my bench. I need them as close to my fingers as possible.

 I'll place all of my essential setting tools in my tray and my trays of replacement burs near this tray.

 These gold teeth were extracted from a cement covering, and they were not permanently worn. With this display, you can see how thin the gold teeth actually were.

 This photo shows how my pictures were taken and used for this essay.

 I always rested the wooden dowel against my bench peg. This was my only opportunity to support the continuing beading process.

 Even if I supported one tooth, I had a great opportunity to not ruin this project for my client.

 When each hole is to be drilled, there must be enough room for the Pavilion Facets as well. 

 GET THOSE NEW BEADS COMPLETELY OVER THE 'GIRDLE OF THE DIAMOND'. 

 I HAD TO REMEMBER: This was not made for a piece of finger jewellery; this was to be worn in the client's mouth.

You can easily notice that there is a spreading or the layout of the beads, this was done on purpose!!!

 I maintained a design aspect throughout the diamond setting process.

 If there are spaces in between the diamonds, fill these spaces with new beads.

 I can see that ONE DIAMOND WAS SET CROOKED. Please avoid this before the diamond is tightened. If you neglect this, it'll be too late and literally impossible to fix afterwards.

 The space in between these stones was not carefully prepared, and it looked like a graver just slid along the metal. (I repaired this error after this photo was taken).

 I prepared to set only 4-5 diamonds at a time. Each 'Diamond Table' had to be slightly lower than the surface of the metal. This allowed me to create sufficiently sized beads.

 On the very tip of the Onglette blade, I rounded the point. This gave me the desired shape to create beads where & when needed. I used an Emery paper of #2/0 grit to do the 'rounding'.

 When I needed to change the position of the 'row of teeth' on the Shellac Dowel. I very carefully reinforced the 'line of teeth' with additional shellac, and the shellac was added while the flakes of shellac were still warm.

 If possible, keep the 'mediocre quality' of diamonds to the rear of the teeth, or out of sight.

 The new row of beads should be between each of the original stones. (This explanation can be seen in this photo)

 If anyone who is reading this tutorial essay finds themselves in the same predicament of setting diamonds. I heartily suggest giving to a Diamond Setter who has much experience with this sheer complexity. I've been a diamond setter for only 65 YEARS.

HOW TO SET AN (ultra) LARGE Diamond Bracelet? => 29 photos

  In my previous tutorial essay, I neglected to mention how these diamonds were set. I will delve into this topic here & now, including which tools I eventually used. I am using the same photographs from a previous essay.

  I will never use a 'clamping device' to hold these links. Why is this? This bracelet was too delicate to keep repairing the many diamond bracelet links. 

 I just came across this in my archives. Do you want to count how many diamonds are here? 

 I took as many photos of this project as I could. Why was this? When the visual story of setting the diamonds was completed, "goodbye bracelet", it was given back immediately to my client.

 These very delicate links gave me much concern, preventing any anticipated breaking.

 

  Just feast your eyes on this little bracelet.

 The extremely tender areas of this bracelet gave me many difficult times in thinking about how this bracelet should be held in place.

 (I increased the clarity in many of these photos for your viewing!)

For your information, there are 5 sizes of diamonds just in this single photograph.

  I pondered many ideas, and the solution was to use 'Shellac, on a wooden hand-held dowel'.

 In looking at this cover plate for setting diamonds, my choice was to use Shellac on every link and ignoring ideas from my past experiences.

  The moment that I decided on the 'shellac holding' process, I felt so relieved.

 The shellac can be bought at any tool supply store or jewellery company online. It comes in a 'flake' consistency. It can be melted only with a low flame, don't overheat it as it bubbles and hardens.

  Here is my answer to all of these problems. You can see just how carefully the wooden dowel is resting in my hand.

 I placed this large plate near the side of the 'shellac stick'. Why did I decide on this precise location?

 I so carefully wanted to have full access to the plate for setting these diamonds. I didn't want to have my fingers reach across the wide shellac plate, agree with me?

 Even placing this mini-link again near the side still gave me better access to the gemstones. This was also the case for the few 'mini-links'.

  What shape of bur would I use? My only shape would be a "156C" 'under-cutting' bur. The reason for this is that each of the claws will have an indentation just where the diamond 'Girdle' will be sitting.

 In this photo, I knew that the 'ball-type gripping technique' was a thing not to be thought of again.

 Once the selected links were prepared for setting. I examined the individual mini claws, as there was only one chance to set each stone. 

 The minute teeth of the "156-C", the letter C refers to the bur being Carbide. These bur teeth MUST BE SHARP and not dull.

 ALL OF MY BURS & TOOLS HAD TO BE SHARP AND NOT DULL FOR CUTTING THE CLAWS. Precision and accuracy in using these tools were, above all, paramount. Even my Bead Burnisher had to have a sharp edge (or be new) while being used.

 When I was using my '156C' to cut a seat for each stone, quality was always on my mind. There was no room for shortcuts and quick setting. HOLD THE BUR VERTICAL and not slanted.

 

 I chose to use a stronger Optivisor to observe each setting process. I usually use a 10x power, but when I was being truly overly cautious, I chose a 15x power Optivisor lens.

 

 Each link had two pairs of 11 diamonds, and each claw was not a 'quick drill and goodbye'. Each group of 11 stones had to be carefully drilled and prepared for setting.

 This process was a mind-boggling process of precision setting. This was not for the jeweller who was new to gem setting.

 I preselected the size of the stones for their prescribed setting on this plate. There must have been 4-5 sizes in this heavily laden plate that covers the 'snap-on' bracelet cover.

 I kept 1-2 burs on my bench peg and avoided the option of looking elsewhere for other burs.

 I had only one opportunity to set each stone. If one claw was damaged or broken, I just avoided thinking about the serious repercussions.

 

 These were the extent of my selection of setting tools. My machine on the right is my 'mobile handpiece', and it was not heavy, as every tool gave me finger dexterity.

 I set one diamond at a time; that is my thought that I won't drop any large numbers of stones.

  All of my burs had to be held in a vertical position, as this kept my stones flat and level.

 I had no intention of resorting to any other method of holding this diamond-intensive bracelet.

 These are some of the setting tools I had within finger access through this lengthy and intense setting process.

 That little 'white dot' is the exact size of the diamonds that I was working on.

   Hooray! This intense setting process is finally completed.