Jewellery Making Supplies Blog

A round bezel setting is the simplest way to set a stone. A cabochon set correctly in this way will look clean, simple and elegant. 

You will need:

A cabochon stone

0.5mm silver sheet (large enough for the stone to sit on and leave a border of a least a few mm all around)

Bezel strip

Hard and Medium silver solder

Flux or Borax cone and dish

Torch and soldering block

Brass tweezers

Pickle solution

Piercing saw

Flat needle file

Emery paper

Burnisher- ideally agate

Tumble polisher or rotary tool with polishing points (at least two)

Tripoli and Rouge

Step 1

Calculate how long a piece of bezel strip you need for your stone (Circumference= π multiplied by the diameter of the stone), add a little extra so that you can overlap!

Anneal your bezel strip.

Wrap the bezel strip around your stone to leave a small overlap.

Ideally, the bezel should grip the stone tightly enough that you can pick it up, and it holds the stone in place.

Step 2 

Mark the point where the edges of the bezel overlap, and cut.

Check that the bezel fits snugly around the stone.

Using a flat (or pillar) needle file, file the edges of the bezel so they fit perfectly.

No light should be visible through the join if you hold the bezel up.

Step 3

Flux the joint thoroughly, and place a pillion of solder across it.

Remember to use a harder solder than you’ll be using to solder  the bezel onto the base.

Begin with a gentle heat, to avoid the solder jumping. Gently heat the whole bezel, moving in a circular motion following its shape. As the solder reaches melting point, rock the heat across the joint until the solder flows across the joint. Use caution as bezel strip can melt very easily.

Quench, pickle and rinse.

Clean up the joint, and smooth it using a needle file and emery paper (wrap the latter around dowelling for a handy tool for smoothing inside rings).

You should now have a smooth, clean bezel.

Step 4

Check the fit by pushing the bezel over the stone.

Using a flat needle file at a 45 degree angle, file a bevelled edge around the bezel’s base.

This will help the solder flow neatly.

Rub the bezel on a fine grade emery paper on both sides in a circular motion to smooth.

Step 5

Flux the underside of the bezel, and the piece of 0.5mm sheet.

Place the bezel centrally, and place pillions of solder inside, at regular intervals.

Heat the whole piece gently at first to “set” the flux. Then move the flame around the outside and the inside of the sheet silver around the bezel. Avoid heating the bezel itself until the base is almost at the requisite heat.

As you see the solder is about to melt, move the flame in a circular motion to match the bezel shape, to encourage the flow of solder.

Quench, pickle and rinse.

Step 6

Using a piercing saw, cut the excess border from the bezel. Take care not to catch the bezel sides.

Use a needle file and emery paper to smooth any rough edges, and lightly bevel the base of the bezel cup.

You should now have a smooth, neat bezel cup ready to solder onto your chosen piece of jewellery.

Use a lower temperature solder to avoid any of the previous joints opening up when heating.

Once your piece is finished, quench, pickle and rinse, then tumble polish.

Step 7

Place the stone into the bezel cup. Ensure it goes in level, and sits flush on the bottom.

Using a burnisher (or bezel roller) ease the bezel over the stone.

For a circular stone, first do this at the cardinal points- this helps ensure a neat setting, with no “wrinkling” of the bezel.

Using your burnisher (an agate burnisher won’t damage the stone), continue smoothing the bezel over the stone.

Once the stone is firmly set, and the bezel is smooth, give the piece a last polish. I use a rotary tool and felt points, one to polish with Tripoli, and a final polish using a separate point and rouge.

You should now have a piece of jewellery with a smooth and clean bezel set cabochon.

 

 

 

This week treat yourself with some of the most exquisite GEMSTONES from Cooksongold! A good reason to buy: we have them NOW on sale!! You get 10% OFF and the possibility to choose from over 420 beautiful gems available!! You’re going to love our variety: we have around 30 stones and they come in more than 15 sizes!

Gemstones are fun for both beginners and more experienced jewellers!  However, if this is your first encounter with gems here are a few facts and tips you might find useful before you start.

• When just starting to work with stones, it is recommended to use large stones (cabochons) since it will be easier to make settings for them.
• Beginners find it easier and more fun to work with the following stones:

1. Amber – is a low-priced stone that is known for its fragility. It can be cut or carved with steel blades or abrasives but you might find it difficult to drill into. In this case, practice on larger chunks before you go on to your design.  When you are satisfy with your design put it in hot water to remove the glue from the amber but beware that excessive heat causes amber to crack. Did you know amber has been around from Palaeolithic times (9500BC) and it is also used in perfumes?
2. Amethyst – can be found in various shades of purple. Did you know this stone was included in the most valuable stones up until the 18th century (along with rubies, sapphires or emerald)?  Nowadays it is one of the most easily obtained stones, making it widely popular with jewellery makers and lovers. This stone increases its price with the intensity of its colour (some of the deep amethysts can sometimes appear almost black) and it also fades when exposed to heat.
3. Garnet – include multiple shades of red but it can be also found in variations such as green or yellow brown. The rarest variety is the Blue Garnet found in the 90s in Madagascar. It is slightly more expensive than the other gems but also slightly more resistant.
4. Opal - is visually a very attractive stone but it contains an increased amount of water therefore it is easy to chip or scratch. Fire opal is the only variety that can be faceted since most of them are very transparent.
5. Quartz – is an extremely economical stone in terms of pricing. The most popular categories of Quartz are Citrine and Smoky Quartz. These stones are easily cracked and, similar to amber, they will change colour or fade when exposed to increased amounts of heat or sunlight.

We have them all at Cooksongold in great variety … and many more too! So hurry up and grab this great deal before it ends on Tuesday, the 28th of September at Midnight!!

And since you dropped by why not subscribe to our blog? Just hit the subscribe button at the bottom of this page and you’ll never miss another great deal again!! We will also make sure to offer you some great hints and tips and keep you up-to-date with the latest news!