This intermediate class is being offered in Amethyst or Amber on August 27, 7pm.

Registration is required by August 16.

Bezel set cabochons are the bread and butter of set stone jewelry. A thin ribbon of metal matching the perimeter of the stone, is soldered to a matching base, and pressed around the stone’s curves to hold it in place.

This week we had class of jewelry artists complete their first Bezel Set Moonstone Rings—but that is just the beginning!

Here is an identical ring to the ones completed by this week’s students with the plain round wire ring band replaced with patterned wire, fit to the bezel sides. For this to work, the sizing must be perfect, and the soldering joins to the bezel walls must be delicately torched to prevent total melt-down. The result is worth the effort. Most students chose to stamp initials into their back plates. This ring has the “Grow Peace” stamp as a textured background.

Gallery Bezel, shown here with an 8mm opal, is made from ornate gallery wire in place of a bezel strip. This type of setting is available preformed to fit a range of cabochon sizes, or it can be created from scratch from an assortment of gallery wires. Soldering the delicate basket to its ring shank is a little scary, but the stone setting is a breeze.