Gem Setting Course Day 3

By the time I arrived, the class had already started. Melbourne public transport, especially the bus, is a real pain in the arse; it always comes 20 minutes late, and they never intend to change the timetable at all. I hate being late for any appointment, but on the third day, I was 30 minutes late. However, I think I could have left the city earlier after work. The idea that I had a long and hard day on my feet and deserved a long break only brought more pain today. What a clear example of how physical exhaustion and mental fatigue throughout the day can deteriorate the ability to make rational decisions! Okay, enough with the babbling and complaints! The objective of the class is based on the practice of cutting lines with gravers from last week, we attempted to set a stone to mimic a star cut, known as 'star setting’.

3 different sizes of ball bur to set 3mm stone -largest one is 2.9mm

Using ball bur.

Step 1: Prepare 3mm size cubic zirconias and a 1.2mm drill, along with 2mm, 2.5mm, and 2.9mm ball burs, a 3mm hart bur, onglette and flat gravers, a shellac stick with a 3mm thick copper piece attached, and a beader set.

Step 2: Drill a hole in the copper piece and gradually enlarge the hole using the ball burs.

Step 3: Use a hart bur the same size as the stone to create a small cut inside the hole so the stone sit flush in the hole.

Step 4: Use gravers to cut a star shape, then make a 45-degree deep cut to push the metal to set the stones. Always cut from the North, South, East, and then West.

Step 5: Insert the stone and create a round surface using the beader.

In a nutshell, it sounds easy, but it was not so easy to do as a first-time trier.

My attempt to cut star shape and get ready to set stone

Perfect example setting done by Renee

I was really mesmerized by the whole process. All the readings, research, and my prior and ongoing experience working at jewellers' supplies came together with this real-time learning of skills and techniques, which feels quite fulfilling. My aim in taking this course isn’t considering to become a stone setter as a future career. Rather, I want to better understand what I am doing through knowledge and experience when I develop a high-quality precious stone engagement ring collection. This process requires speed, patience, and persistence, and it is preparing me for the exciting opportunity of creating my own engagement collection based on my hands-on experience.