Finish Making Your Ring WIth Bling
All that is left to do is to secure the gemstone in the setting.
Mar 10, 2007
In addition to the vendors mentioned on page 3 of this series of articles, here are a couple of additional suggestions just in case one wants to shop around a bit more.
Fire Mountain Gems – ask for your complimentary copy of their gemstone and precious metal catalog or make your selection online. It is recommended that you use an emerald (octagon) setting for your first attempt. They sell emerald cut, 4-prong settings from 6x4mm in size up to 16x12mm. For comparison purposes 16x12mm is about 5/8 inch by ½ inch in size. Fire Mountain Gems also sells faceted precious (ruby, sapphire and emerald) colored gemstones and many different semi-precious gemstones such as amethyst and citrine.
Rio Grande – also sells ring settings and faceted gemstones in many different sizes. Rio Grande has a much wider selection than Fire Mountain Gems – however, you must set up an account at Rio Grande prior to placing an order.
Rio Grande also has an awesome selection of lab-grown gemstones. The difference in price between a lab-grown and natural emerald, for example, is hundreds of dollars and the lab- grown come in much larger sizes. They also have a selection of beautiful cubic zirconia in many different hues including the high quality Signity Star brand CZ.
Before you go any further review your supplies and make sure you have the following:
- Gemstone and ring setting that are the same size and shape
- Gem-setting pliers
- Comfortable workspace that gets plenty of natural light
Make sure you have read the instructions that came with the gem-setting pliers. Every set of gem-setting pliers operates just a little differently. Review page 2 of this series of articles if need be for general information about using gem-setting pliers.
Your last step is merely to place the gemstone in the setting and make sure the gemstone is level prior to tightening any of the prongs. As stated on page 2 each prong is tightened slightly using the pliers. Work your way around the gemstone tightening each prong in order making sure that the gemstone is level after each prong you tighten.
If it sounds too easy that is because it is very easy. Using the right pliers and making sure you have the same size gemstone and setting makes setting your gemstone no more difficult than picking out the outfit with which you are going to wear your beautiful new ring with bling.
The image shown on this page is a vintage setting from the 1940’s acquired at an estate sale in Savannah, GA that was missing it’s gemstone – the gemstone was either sold or lost over the years.
Luckily the prongs were still in very good shape allowing a new 6mm round diamond to be placed in the setting and tightened using the instructions given in this series of articles. The green velvet box it is photographed in is it’s original box with the jeweler’s name.
