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The most popular stone setting styles in Jewellery

Since ancient times, people have been adorning themselves with beautiful gem materials and even now, jewellery dripping in dazzling gemstones are still marvelled at for their beauty and opulence. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the brilliance of the gemstones themselves on the jewellery, but less often do we give thought to the way this is made possible – how each and every one of those gemstones are attached to the piece of jewellery.

Jewellery settings are used to secure gemstones to a piece of jewellery, and stone setting, as the process is called, is an art in itself. Stone setting is not just merely a means to hold stones in place – settings are intrinsically linked to the design of the jewellery.

Over time as technologies developed, settings also evolved to better enhance the overall design and elegance of the piece. However, new technologies do not render traditional methods obsolete as old styles of settings still frequently employed even as new techniques are being developed. That being said, in the article we’ll briefly introduce a few of the most classic setting styles that are still very commonly seen on the market today and how they are made.

Bezel setting

Invented by the Ancient Romans, the bezel setting is still widely used in jewellery today. The gemstone is held in place by a strip of metal that encircles the side of the stone and extends just slightly above it. The extension is then pushed over the top of the stone and then smoothed over, resulting in a very securely set gemstone. Due to the way metal is wrapped around all of the stone apart from the top, this style of setting does not show off the gemstone quite as brilliantly as the prong setting does. However, this does make for a very safe and secure setting that is ideal for everyday wear, and for people with active lifestyles, as there is very little chance that the stone will become loose and easily lost.

Prong Setting

This is probably the setting style that people are the most familiar with. Picture in your mind an engagement ring, and you’ll most likely conjure up an image of the iconic Tiffany diamond ring. The ‘Tiffany setting’ was invented by Tiffany & Co. in 1886, to better show off a diamond’s brilliance by setting it up high held by 6 prongs.

Like its name suggests, the prong setting involves using metal prongs that are bent over the girdle of the gemstone, all around its diameter in a vice-like grip to hold the stone securely in place. The setting style has always been popular because of the way it allows more light to enter the gemstone, causing the gemstone to shine most prominently.

The tip of the prongs can also be shaped in many different ways, much like fingernails can be filed into different shapes, to suit the design or preference of the customer.

Thread or bead setting

This setting style is traditional techniques used to set small gemstones and is very commonly found across many types of jewellery, from earrings to rings to bangles. The stones are placed in holes that have been drilled into the surface of the metal. Engraving tools are then used to raise little beads of metal around the stones, which are rounded off and pushed over the edge of the stones to hold them securely in place.

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Gemstones and its History

The world of gemstones offers such an endless choice of colour and variety of fascinating minerals that can satisfy even the most difficult of people to please.

Being Gemologist is also knowing the history of gemstones goes back for centuries since they were prized long before

The diamond was discovered. Many prospectors in the past have risked their lives to find them and still today, although mining conditions in some areas have improved, people continue to put their lives at risk in the search for the most beautiful,

naturally created, specimens from earth.

A Mineral is defined as:

A solid crystalline chemical element or compound that results from the inorganic process of nature and that has a characteristic crystal structure and chemical composition or range of compositions. 

Within the mineral kingdom the most common characteristics of gemstones are:-

chemical composition and crystal structure, the combination of which, together with

physical and optical properties are most important in their identification. All

minerals that have identical chemical composition (or range of compositions) and

identical crystal structures are considered to be of the same Species.

Some species can be related by being either chemically or structurally similar and can be further classified into Groups. 

Species Quartz Chemical composition:     Si02 Crystal structure: Hexagonal

Variety Amethyst:                     Bluish/purple to purple to reddish/purple

Chemical composition:                 Si02 Crystal structure: Hexagonal

Variety Citrine:                     Yellow to orange to brownish orange

Chemical composition:                 Si02 Crystal structure: Hexagonal 

https://jdmis.edu.sg/jewellery-foundation-certificate-courses/gemmology-secrets-of-the-gem-and-jewellery-trade.html