Marquise Gem - help

[Nick martin]

Good morning all,

Last night I attempted to set a large faceted marquise stone ( 25.5 x 10 ) and I managed to mess it up.

However it served as a learning exercise so I'm not feeling too angry about it as I think I've learnt stuff along the way, especially as it was my first attempt at creating a bezel.

When I placed the stone the tension on the tips of the stone ( bezel too tight ) make a chip break off and that was it. Not huge but I notice it so it's now scrap.

So.. Going to attempt another one but my questions are:

Is it good practice to taper the top of both ends of the bezel in order to follow the slope of the stone and try to leave equal amount of metal to rub over?

Once in place, what's the ideal protocol for starting to push the metal over? Is it wise to start at the tips and work towards the centre, or vice versa?

Going to re-attempt using a cabochon cut this time as the faceted back on the first was tricky and as I'd like a window in the baseplate, then I think it looks daft.

Thanks everyone and here's my shame.. Note the back part was done very roughly because I'd messed up at this point and just wanted to practice. I also split the corners by a mm too!

Nick

[Dennis]

Hi Nick,

The good news is that you have advanced a good way along your learning curve and you know at first hand what the problems are.

Yes, points and corners will facture if stressed and more so with faceted stones and of course soft stones. In the case of a marquise you can relieve the ends of the bezel by cutting through with a fine saw blade and make a tiny V-shaped gap. When you rub it down the gap will close. If it looks good. but the surface is a little puckered, dont push further, but use a fine file to smooth it.

You have also have noticed that a bezel which is straigt at the top edge will be too tall at each end. You must aim to have only about a third of a mm to push down, or even less if the stone is small. So the top edge must be adjusted accordingly before setting. Lastly the edge should be bevelled to a knife ege, so that you have very little to push over.

In which order to proceed? Well the sides first, just enough to make sure that the top of the stone stays level. Then the ends and then back to the sides.

If you are not doing it already, I would suggest that you cut your own bezel strip from 0.40mm fine silver sheet, as this is much easier to use. When you have mastered that you will sometimes use even thicker strip, but always with a knife edge bevel Dennis.

[Nick martin]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a long response to my questions Dennis, very much appreciated as always.

Your information is hugely helpful to me, and I guess my annoyance at writing off my gemstone wasn't a complete waste of time.

Several learning points for me in what you wrote, so I'll have a another attempt soon and with the new knowledge.

Cheers,

Nick

[Nick martin]

Dennis,

Would you advocate cutting the small V shaped grooves before forming the bezel i.e. whilst flat and marked out, or afterwards

And also when cutting your own bezel strips out of Fine silver, do you tend to use a piercing saw or some kind of sheers?

I bought the bezel strip for my failed attempt already pre-cut but now you mentioned it I do prefer the idea of cutting my own and to my own exact measurements.

Thanks,

Nick