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View Full Version : buying ring mounts, settings, collets?



cheryle79
30-06-2010, 08:53 AM
where can i buy sterling silver empty ring mounts, settings or collets, anywhere i look on net the postage prices are terrible as mostly they come from usa, anywhere make them in the uk, really wanna try setting my own gems...cookson do mostly shanks and settings separate and very little in silver, please help, excited beginner...:~:

Dennis
30-06-2010, 03:24 PM
Dear Cheryle,
Cooksons do in fact have quite a few sterling ring shanks and separate collets and they would not be too difficult to solder together. To get the whole thing you might have to go somewhere like Rio Grande.
Be aware though that this is not like buying a kit which snaps together. The collets have to be adjusted in height, or the stones raised on washers. Then the collets have to be pushed onto the stones and finally filed and polished.
Also stones of a nominal size will vary so that some might be too loose or too tight. For this reason it would be best to take or send your ring to the stone place to try some in.
Lastly you might well not get this right first time so you could buy some spare collets for practice rather than spoil an expensive ring.
I would urge you to find tuition so that you can do this properly and avoid ready- mades altogether. Kind regards, Dennis.