Diamonds and Gemstone Setting Education 

Jewellery setting is often overlooked, but it is, in fact, one of the most important aspects of any item. The highest clarity stone, if not combined with the right setting, may appear to be visually poor or even lose its brilliance. Conversely, a poor quality stone can be made to look fantastic, in some cases, when used with the perfect setting type. There are eight setting types altogether, each of which offers their aesthetic benefits and durable properties.

Prong

The prong setting (also known as a claw) is the most widely used throughout the jewellery industry. It utilises little metal to hold the stone in place, allowing its brilliance to shine through and has been designed to let ample light through at the top of the stone. This setting can come with many different numbers of prongs, of which four and six are the most popular.

Bezel

The bezel setting is essentially a large shield that wraps itself around the diamond or gemstone, holding it into place. While it is secure, it often minimises the glow and brilliance of the stone, as it cuts out the available light that can appear.

Half Bezel

A half bezel is a variation of the traditional bezel setting, where an open space has been cut into the structure. Half bezels allow more light in than its enclosed counterpart and therefore allow the stone’s fire and brilliance to shine through more adequately.

Wrap

A wrap setting is where the actual ring itself has been warped around the diamond. This creates its own, unique beauty while allowing the eye to focus more on the stone itself. Wraps are generally used for circular or oval cuts and are relatively secure.

Flush Setting

In this setting, space is cut into the ring itself, giving the stone an appearance that it has “sunk” into the metal. This is ideal for small stones, as it can often make them more visible and aesthetically pleasing to look at. The flush setting is also known as burnishing or the gypsy setting.

Pavé

This setting seeks to compact many stones or diamonds closely together, only separated by tiny holding beads embedded into the ring itself. Pavé stones are one of the most revered settings in the jewellery industry, as they can often bring forth the feature stone from the ring itself.

Channel

The channel setting involves cutting a ridge into the ring, where the stones are then placed into this groove, similar to the flush setting. The channel setting is highly secure, and are a hit with wedding and engagement ring seekers alike. Channel sets suit squarer diamonds more. However, they can be used with more circular shapes.

French

The French set, also known as a French bead, combines the theory of the pavé and channel settings. The idea behind this style is to create the distinctive pavé look, without having a set, defined border or edge to the ring itself. This setting is a very traditional one, and can often enhance the look and glow of round and oval cut stones.