[Jewelry making - Article 00576] - Re: [Orchid] 14K Bezel frustrations

[John Donivan]

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>     fold along the relief giving you a dishonorable bezel. 

    And we wouldn't want that!! Lot's of good advise, but I'll just sum
    up an important thing. Gold bezel is different than fine silver
    bezel. The bigger the stone and bezel, the thicker the bezel needs to
    be or it will just spring. Standard fine silver gauge is what? 28
    gauge? I forget... That in 14kt. is probably good up to 6-10 mm max
    without getting into springing issues - smaller than that is better.
    It's the diameter of the circle (shape) that prevents the springing -
    a small diameter will stay a circle when you push - get a little
    bigger and the other side kicks out when you push, thus the need for
    thicker metal. That can be dealt with by some of the advise given -
    Neil and Richard were right on. 

    Many people try to set a stone too deep, too, and the bezel has to go
    inwards by 1/3 or something, which is never going to happen. On a
    well cut stone you should just be pinching the bezel down a bit, not
    trying to pound it inwards by 2mm or something. Anyway, the real
    solution is to use your thin wire for small stones, and use thicker
    for larger stones. And make sure it's annealed, as has been said. Or
    turn it into gallery wire, which has also been said. 

http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com
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