are bead settings safe?

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"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein

Ana "The greatest experts are only as good as the sum total of what they have seen." [Souren Melikian]

David S. Atlas

GG(GIA), ASG, Sr. Mbr. NAJA

www.datlas.com

***changed my user name from Leota --> to KittyTiger***

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On 12/22/2003 5:11:51 PM oldminer wrote:

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Pave' setting and bead setting are essentially one and the same. Pave' meaning 'paved' in French. Other pave' setting can mean hammer set, which appears smooth and flush with the surface and with no bead work. These jobs are basically the same except for how the final steps are accomplished. Bead setting looks busy while hammer setting looks plain. Any extra beads raised that don't even touch the stone are called 'ornaments'. In fine bead work a setter will make ornaments just to finish and fill the open metal. It is a little showing off of skills and adds glitter to the item without the cost of another small diamond.


There are fewer really good bead setting specialists today that there were some years ago. Bead setting requires a lot of the skills of an engraver. Since we have so little apprenticeship in the USA, a lot of this work is now done overseas and in a mass environment where the bead setting is actually done in the wax before the gold or platinum is cast. While it looks similar, it is far from the same result.


Pave' work, when done properly, is very durable. When poorly done, stones can fall out easily. Workmanship and metal quality dictate how secure the stones will be.----------------