 Setting
Larger Gemstones (Continued)
Now that you have tested and if your setting are like
ours, found that the setting won't hold the gemstone firmly as it came out
of the package, we are ready to begin
 modifying
the setting so that it will accommodate our gemstone. The first step
is to gently bend each of the four prongs in as shown at left. Do
this in very small increments. Notice in the picture that you bend
the length of the prong from the supporting circle of the setting to the
end of the prong. After bending all four prongs in toward the center
slightly, test the stone again by placing the setting on the stone as
shown above-right.
When the setting appears that it could accommodate a
gemstone about .5 to1mm smaller than your stone, you are ready to set the
stone in the setting. This is done by pushing down on the setting as
it is positioned above the stone. Use the thumb on your dominant
hand.
When done properly, you should need to apply firm pressure, but not
extreme pressure. It should be about as difficult to push the stone
as it would be to slide a gallon jug of milk on your kitchen table but not
more difficult. Continue pushing until all four prongs pop into
position with the girdle of the stone being held by the notch in each of
the prongs. When held in position properly the stone should not
easily turn in the setting. If your setting and gemstone do not
appear as shown at right, adjust the prongs to remove the stone, adjust
the prongs again to fit the stone and start over.
 When
you get the gemstone in this position the setting and gemstone will look
great, but you aren't finished. The stone can be held firmly by the
prongs, but over time will still come apart until you finish setting the
gemstone by bending the top of each prong in so that it covers a small
portion of the gemstone. See the picture at left. You need to
bent the portion of the prong from the notch to the end of the prong in
toward the center. This will require a little dexterity with your
pliers and a little practice. (Please see page
18 for how to use our
gemstone setting pliers
to tighten your gemstone in the setting.) If you don't have
gemstone setting pliers, use your chain nose or bent
chain nose pliers on opposite prongs. On one of the opposite prongs
align the jaws of your pliers along the length of the prong. On the
opposite
prong your pliers will be touching just the outside of the tip of the
prong. Squeeze your pliers firmly in this position and it should
bend the tip of the prong in. Reposition your pliers to squeeze the
opposite prong's tip. Then reposition again to work on the other
pair of opposing prongs. When you have done this properly, the stone
should be gripped so tightly in the setting that it can't spin or move in
any way. If you look at the picture at right closely, you should
notice that the tip of each prong is bent inward to cover a small portion
of the gemstone.
A few notes for consideration. First, you should not
be able to scratch your gemstone with your pliers. You can scratch
your pliers with your gemstone, but this won't be a problem. In this
process you won't need to worry about scratching your gemstone.
Second, you will need to worry about your pliers scratching your setting.
If your toolsmanship isn't the best, your pliers may slip as you are
squeezing the setting. This will cause a scratch in the setting.
If this happens you may need to file the scratch smooth with a jeweler's
file. After using the jeweler's file you may need to polish the
scratched area. Use your file as little as possible.
Good Luck in setting larger gemstones. This isn't
easy, but it is worth it. Remember that you will get better with
practice (we did.) If two carat stones are good and four carat
stones are great, then what is a 6 carat stone? (A 12mm gemstone is
the same size as a 6 carat diamond.) In the following web
page we discuss how to modify a commercial chain to fit through the loops
in a pendant finding like the one shown here. |