[Jewelry making - Article 01022] - Re: [Orchid] Learning tension setting

[Robert Hood]

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    I am also entirely self taught. It is true, as Gerry said, that
    having an expert nearby to ask questions is very helpful but one can
    also learn through books and experimentation, it just takes longer.
    You might  develop a better way of doing something through your
    experimentation. I think I have in a few instances I don't know the
    "accepted" way to make a tension setting but I have made several and
    the diamonds are still secure after a number of years. I carved my
    waxes with a cnc mill but it would be no problem to do them by hand.
    I made the shanks very thick to provide maximum tension. I used a
    heat treatable yellow allow for the casting. After casting, I cut
    the seats in either side of the tension setting. Great care has to be
    taken here. If they are not perfectly cut the stone will not be
    level. Put the stone in the setting by putting the ring on a mandrel
    and forcing it open enough to drop the stone in, then force it back
    down the mandrel to close it. I usually have to do this several times
    , adjusting the seats each time until I am satisfied with the fit. I
    remove the diamond one last time, and close the gap a couple of
    millimeters using  ring bending pliers. After this I heat treat the
    ring and reinstall the stone again using the ring mandrel to open and
    close the setting. The ring mandrel I use is one that I use for
    polishing rings and its surface is now highly polished. 

    For what it's worth, I think tension settings are a stupid idea and
    I no longer make them. They must be a bitch to resize. I've told my
    few tension set customers that they will have to have a new setting
    made if sizing is required. You can get the same effect by closing
    the channel with a ring under the diamond which is smaller than the
    width of the diamond. To set the stone, I cut the shank at the
    bottom and bend one side of the shank so that the two sides overlap.
    I then carefully push the two bottom sides together opening the
    channel at the top of the ring. When the opening is large enough to
    slip the stone in, I tighten it by opening the bottom of the ring .
    I  repeat this process recutting the seats each time until I get the
    right fit, then solder the shank and finish. If the wearer gets
    fatter as she ages there's no problem sizing the ring. 

    If she goes on a diet , you might have a problem finding a way to
    tighten the stone. 

R.H.


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