Gem Setting Course : Between star and flush

The class on preparing gravers finished last week. I still feel my flat graver is not the right shape, but I only used the onglette to practice star setting. I definitely need a fair amount of practice cutting lines, but I saw a demonstration of star setting on Instagram. I showed this feed to Renee, and she said that a square graver was used. I borrowed her square graver, and then I was able to get a better star shape.

Star shape setting-with onglette and square gravers

Then we moved on to learning flush setting. Renee showed us two different methods. One method involves using a hart bur of the same size as the stone to be set for the final step before using a burnisher. It's helpful to know that I can use an old beader to make a small burnisher for small stones, which means most stones. It is really satisfying if you can hear the clicking sound of the stone fitting into the hole. Later, I practiced it, but controlling burs with a micro motor was challenging for me. The other way to do gypsy setting (flush setting) involves making a small groove with the beader end into the enlarged hole, which is the same size as the stone. When seated, the table of the stone should be flush with the surface of the metal (copper), as the seat is the same size or 0.1mm larger, created using a ball bur.

First method using hart burr to make seat

2 flush settings using 2 different methods

I have been making contemporary jewelry professionally for over a decade, and I have always known that there are many skills and techniques I haven't had the chance to learn. Would it be too distracting for me to try to learn as many skills as possible? I won’t become a stone setter after completing this course, and no matter the purpose, I will need much more practice to go a little deeper. What is contemporary? What does contemporary jewellery mean? Can I call myself a jeweller without knowing and experiencing these skills for myself? One contemporary way to conclude this course would be to use what I've learned and immerse myself in my pipe works, which resemble a pathway of creation… Let’s see.

Let's slowly and deeply create a story at my own pace. Let's remove all the froth and see the brilliant sunlight in the clear water.