"Half-Bezel" gemstone setting

  There are many interesting names to this kind of stone setting, "Half-Bezel', "Double-Curve Bezels" and lastly, "End Bezels"! Whatever name you wish to identify this setting with, it still sets nicely.

 Why do I like this setting? It has & gives you 'more exposure' to the stone than the Full-Bezel. The "Full Bezels" literally cover up about 33% of the stone in the setting, I want the client to see more of the stone, but not the metal.

 This kind of setting warrants Bright-Cutting during the 'finishing stages'. In the following many photographs is the 2nd stage of setting! As I don't want to burden you with how the stone is actually set, but the finishing is 75% of the setting process.

 This is so much more reading and here again, as always, the 'Onglette Graver' cutting is what will separate you from the other designers. Bright-Cutting can be so 'creative' when you achieve the skill required in gemstone setting. This will make all of your jewellery so much more beautiful..:>)

 On this opening photograph, you can see a two (blue & red) rings waiting to be Bright-Cut in the background. These are now my next 'setting essay' also waiting to be written about Bright-Cutting!

  I am now using only my 45-degree angle 'High-Speed Bur'. Although it's very aggressive in its cutting, it's the 'best bur-in-town' for excavating any Bezel metal. This bur automatically gives you the correct angle as of the Pavillion of the large gemstone.

 To prepare for the 'hammering process' I want my hammer to hit only on the outside edge of the frame at exactly a 45-degree angle. Please be very gentle in this sort of rough-filing!

 In this photograph, you can see just how the appearance of inside the bezel is 'after' the HSS bur carving. I'm working from the bearing cut, then down towards the bottom of the bezel-wall.

 Don't worry if the appearance of the tip of the bezel and how it looks. You must see a 'flat top' area, this area will gently be formed & moulded 'over' the stone by the numerous hammer hits!!!

 I know that this seems awfully rough method of tightening, but it works great for me! I'm literally 'crimping the metal' at the 4 ends of the wall, this is just to secure the stone from moving! I'm only 'tightening' the four corners as these 4 corners will gently hold the stone in place during the heavy hammering hits.

 Please be darned careful in this process as the stone must be level and never slanted/crooked!

 Please always hammer on your mandrel! As if you use your ring clamp, the powerful hitting forces will be immediately absorbed as it hits your metal ring. Hence, this will be a poor and an inaccurate method of moving the metal over the stone.

 You don't want a serious amount of metal to be moved over the girdle of the stone, what you see here is sufficient. Do you notice the height of the metal holding the stone? This is so important in the next stage of setting.

 Just a quick note, here is the actual 'hitting 45-degree angle' of the hammer. The hammer must be so very smooth on the 'face', as there must never be any indentation on the hammer face, why so? The hammer marks will be quickly transferred to the bezel tip and be very difficult to be removed.

 Cleaning with a 20cm. or an 8-inch file but with a safety-sided feature (as shown) again filing at 45-degree angle.

 I'm using a 'Medium' (texture) grade paper sanding disk as this is now a part of the 'cleaning process'.

 I'll be now using a Pumice wheel of #180 grit, following the sanding-disk operation. This will be almost the completion of this setting process.

 I'm now using my Onglette  #2 Right-Sided shaped graver to cut only on the Right Side. This will give a nice reflecting surface to the inside of the Bezel wall.

  I'll be using a fine Triangular file #4 cut to only clean the 'ends' of the Bezel wall.

 These are the finished views of the Bezel Ring. you now have a well-defined Bezel wall tip!

 This ring will shine then afterwards, you won't be seeing two massive amounts of curved metal holding the stone.

 I preferred to use a 'coloured gemstone' to give it more eye-appeal than a simple 'white' stone! Nice comparison from Pink to the White (silver) metal, agree?

 If you have any concerns or questions, kindly contact me "gerrylewy18 (at) gmail.com"

Recent, Diamond Setting errors!

  I gave this ring to another setter just to speed up the finishing process, I then noticed some 'irregularities' (using a kinder word) with his setting.

 I took some photographs of the finished ring for 'us' to examine and critique! Let's just say "I am not at all pleased with his setting results"..;>(

 He presented me the 'finished ring', but his setting of the 1.50-carat diamond was still 'loose' in the mounting....OUCH!

 The very first thing I would have done is to Bright-Cut the inside rim of the 'claw basket'. This area just can't be cut once the stones are in.

  

 There should have been some serious use of a "Triangular file, #4" to additionally round off the "overlapping" sections of the claw tips. (BTW, just what are those little lines on the inside of the

the right side of the claw??)

 Can you see the 'rough finish' of the yellow gold just below the mini-stone setting area? How is this going to be cleaned? I'd use a Bud bur of #006 or even a Bud #007 and carefully clean & remove the 'rough, casting texture'! 

  Can you still see the 'over-run' of the Rhodium plating right side and on top of the diamonds that are set?

 Why wasn't the 'cleaning process' more exacting? I'd never let this 'cleaning' reach this far, so very disturbing to see it 'finished' in this mediocre manner!

 Why are the claws/prongs so darned high and they appear to be above the 'table' of the stone? The "claw height" could eventually rip the clothing and loosen this stone...again!

 What are those little indentations in the metal on the outside of the settings? These are the telltale markings from the bead-burnisher touching the square area where the diamonds are.

 BTW, there was no effort in Bright-Cutting any area before the stones were set!!! This alone would make the stones shine much brighter. Bright-Cutting would have removed all CAD-carving marks.

 On the 'bottom row of diamonds', you can easily see a little 'dish' around some of those claws. Just how would have these marks be avoided?

 I would have used a "Pumice wheel of #180 grit" then followed by a "Pink Pumice wheel @ #1,000 grit" to carefully remove those little marks. 

 In this interesting photograph, you can just easily see how the claw 'stands like a pole' and as these are waiting to cause problems while being worn! Please don't set your expensive diamond in this manner!!!

 These claws will cause major problems in the short-term wearing. The bearing cut for the thick girdle was not taken into consideration. I would have used a #006 or a #007 Bud-bur with the 'same thickness as the diamond girdle' to carve out a wider bearing cut, thus allowing for the thicker & wider, "Girdle-edge".

 These 'burnisher markings are so easy to see! There was no effort in cleaning after the setter set his stones. You can still even see more Rhodium plating on the top of the setting areas! 

  I am very critical of my own setting labours. I use a great phrase, "I've used this setter twice...first and last time!"

 Am I the only person, or setter who is so very critical of these many (questionable) setting steps?

Contact me at "gerrylewy18 (at) gmail.com".

Practice & still more basic practicing!

  Before you sit down and attempt to copy some of my Bright-Cutting projects, there is one big problem. How many weeks, months or maybe years, have you been 'practicing' using a graver?

 In this interesting essay on 'practicing', you will surely find out what my formative years were on the bench and what it involved. I've prepared a list of mini-topics you should be very concerned with.

This 'Scale of Difficulty' is about a "7.5 out of 10!"

1) What metal should I practice on? For these basic learnings processes, I'd stay with silver, as this is an easy metal to work with and very forgiving if you make a little mistake. Brass is too darned hard to cut and navigate around the beads, not to mention trying to Bright-Cut. "OUCH!"

2) How am I to hold the 'demo-sample'? You can hold this item at any angle you need, just remember your fingers must be able to move the graver of your choice. I prefer to have my graver as near as possible to the edge of the 'wooden stick' as I need 100% access to the metal for cutting.

3) What clamps should I use and why? I use a shellac stick that will hold 'securely' any item that I  need to be easy to hold for many hours and not to move.

3-a) The 'pin vise' is too cumbersome for long setting periods, as it is quite heavy @ 191.3gm's just
to keep lifting it against the bench-peg. My fingers & hand must not have any need to 'climb over the pin vise', just to gain access to the 'demo-piece'.

3-b) The screw on the side can be so very irritating just to navigate while doing some Bright-cutting. It just interferes (ouch!) with my right-hand when holding my gravers. The little (holding) pins can destroy or mark some on the side metal..:>(

  My fingers can wrap around the wooden stick with the greatest of ease, as I have now no other protruding piece of metal (tightening turning screw) hurting my fingers. The wooden shellac stick (my preference) weighs only 62.1 gm's.

 When the shellac is heated and the melted "Flake Shellac" semi-liquifies and it literally sticks and then hardens to your 'demo-practice' item. To remove the shellac, I drop the slightly heated item into 'Methyl Hydrate". After 1/2 hour, all of the shellac is dissolved into the solution. So easy to use!!!

4) What tools should I use & why? As shown below, I'd stay with the Onglette & Flat gravers! 

5) Ergonomics & why is this so important? Always sit in a chair that has armrests. During the long engraving & cutting sessions, your arms do get tired and your elbow can rest on that attached arm-rest even while continuing your Bright-Cutting.

6) What magnifying "Opti-Visor" lens should I wear? I use two lenses, #5 & a #7, depending on the intensity of your Bright-Cutting!!!

7) When should I do my practicing; morning or afternoon? I start my "setting" mornings off at 8:00 a.m.and slacken off by 2-3:00 p.m. The brain actually gets tired from the intense cutting & very 'creative' thinking.

 What are the basic selection of gravers to use; these can be very useful in other engraving situations. I prefer only 2, Onglette gravers; #1 & #2, plus my favourite Flat graver #40.

 The thickness of the cutting section of this graver is quite narrow, it's a mere 0.45mm's.

 Here are my two gravers that I used here, as you can see you have just one decision to make which graver to use? In my opinion, I'd stay with the thin graver, as it has a greater opportunity in carving very delicate areas.

 Now you can observe the greatly modified & extensively trimmed Onglette #1. I keep my "Bench-Grinder" and "Oil-Stone" working non-stop, as I'm refining the cutting edge of my gravers continually.

 I use my Burnishing Tool, but what size? My answer will be a burnishing tool that is just a size larger than the bead you are wanting for 'round off'!

  As I am now dealing with engraving in very tight spaces up close photo's show all kinds of some "unnecessary" cuts. The width of the engraving area shown here is 3.75mm's by 2.19mm's. 

 Inside of each square, I used my (very thin) Onglette #1! I cut two cross-lines...thus making each square now with 4 mini-squares! This #1 graver is only 0.31mm's in width as this allows the greatest of ease in the delicate cutting...Nice pattern? I leave no surface areas untouched by my flat graver!

 As you can now see there are no flat areas remaining that need to be faceted with your Flat graver. I even faceted the very tip of the mini-new squares. Every top of those new 'square tips' must have a reflecting surface.

 From a distance of only a few feet, the 'observer' cannot just tell how many gemstones there are in the silver circle. That alone is the main reason for all of this creative Bright-cutting. (You might need some sunglasses under the direct sunlight just to see the multitude of cuttings)...:>)

 If anyone says that this 'cutting session' is difficult this might be a little true. After a few intense cutting sessions, this exercise will become easy and be like 'second-nature' to you!

 In my next group of demo-essays, I'll be further discussing how to grind & further modify the graver to allow such easy cutting just like being shown above.

 BTW, in all of Toronto and the multitude of Diamond Setters, there are not too many who can execute this kind of creative Bright-Cutting, pity!

         Anyone who wishes to contact me, please do so: "gerrylewy18 (at) gmail.com"

Can you find the diamonds?

 "It's not what you see, but how you perceive it should be!" And with this statement, let's explore what is sculptured in the metal & how it now appears!

"Scale of Difficulty" 8.5 out of 10!

 What very important tools that are needed?

Burs:

Round #005 & #006. 

Bud #006.

Metal clamp: This kind of screw-type of a clamp is my best, as there must be no movement at all during the many delicate cuttings. 

Gravers:

Onglette #0, #1, (extremely reshaped to be only 0.33millimeters in width)

Flat #40 (extremely modified to have thinner, but not a narrower face).

Marking pen: This must have a fine-pointed tip.

This little marker needs to be able to draw 'little squares' with the finest detail! A large, felt-marker do not allow fine lines to be drawn on (.925) silver.

 To initiate the first cutting, I suggest and truly suggest cutting or drawing with your #006 bud-shaped bur for these two outside lines in the metal.

 Once the two lines are outlined, it is prudent to use your 'Onglette #0' graver. Try not to rub off these little guidelines, as we need them all in a few moments.

  I would now start to use the bud-shaped bur #006 and 'mark & cut' the surface of the metal. Please realize that 'we' are dealing with ultra-small areas to cut!

These up-close photographs can be quite misleading, as some sections being shown in the metal are about only .005 of a millimetre.

 These photographs are showing different angles of the new & basic cutting!

 With my Flat-Graver of #40, (or Glardon #12), cut a square in the metal and see just how brilliant the cutting is starting to take shape.

 You should be noticing a (little square) or pyramid now taking shape. The bur- cutting pattern should be much deeper as this will allow you Bright-Cut easily.

  To allow a square-effect to take place, the Bright-cutting must have the 4-cuts equally cut on all four sides. This might need some practice!

  The Flat graver should be at a 45degree angle and while being used cutting into the soft-silver metal.

 Once you are quite satisfied with your initial results, I suggest you continue cutting all of the remaining 'little squares'.
 

 Once that all of the little mini-cuts are finished, only then you can Bright-Cut the two side-walls!

 With the 'little triangles' in between the little squares, I would now draw a line in the center of each. With this, there will be now four beads 'appearing' to hold each gemstone.

 All of these mini-beads are shaped with a Bud & Round bur to make these cuts. The Onglette graver cannot do justice with what is now needed!
 I found that any form of graver cutting keeps on cutting or digging into the metal long after you need it to stop.
 For these delicate cuts, I'd stay with the two bur shapes and your Flat Graver.

  I know that this looks so very 'rough' in these preliminary cutting photo's, but it will take shape in a few minutes!

With each square that you have the next step is to 'cut downwards' to the base of the metal. These cuts are to be done with your Flat graver only and all around each square until this pattern has a 'rounded' shape!

 As there are many facets on a diamond, then as well you should have multiple 'cuts' all around each 'square or pyramid'.

During these many Bright-Cutting stages, you might be feeling or getting tired. I usually stop at these points & refresh the brain and rest my fingers & eyes!!!

 Please remember to make sure that your Flat graver is cutting clean and with no situations to contend with in the Bright-Cutting!

  After all of the 'pseudo-beads' are burnished & cleaned, then you can continue with the two outside lines for Bright-Cutting.

 On each side being Bright-Cut is the reflection from other areas of the setting. This alone signifies to you that your Bright-Cutting is progressing just nicely..:>)

 In this better photograph, you can start seeing a pattern, or a form taking shape. If, and I repeat, if I have the opportunity I'd bead-burnish the little pseudo-beads!

 YES, there will be times you might have to continue with your 'down cutting' until each square looks like a 'round pattern or having a diamond shape'.

 I separated the little triangles (with my round & bud shaped burs) in between the square, as these will be re-cut & trimmed until you have little 'pseudo-beads'.

 From a distance, you can just not tell if there are gemstones, cubic zirconia or diamonds in the metal.

  This specialized "Bright-Cutting pattern" can be very convincing from a distance! 

  If you have any questions in using any kinds of gravers or setting of stones, please contact me: "gerrylewy18(at)gmail.com"
Regards to everyone, everywhere!