Rise to the challenge of setting stones that feature
dramatic angles By Lexi Erickson
OPENING^
PHOTO:
JIM^
LAW
SON;
PROCESS^ PHOTOS:^LEXI
ERIC
KSONW
HEN I FIRST started
making jewelry eons ago,
the stones at our local
rock shop were either a strange,
diffi cult to design around freeform
shape, or rounds and ovals. But
the sophistication of many lapidary
artists has improved in the last 35
years, and professional gem shows
like those at Tucson now allow us
to see gorgeous shapes cut just for
the jewelry designer. But these new
shapes sometimes contain dramatic
angles which can lead to a diffi culty
in setting. My most requested class is
how to set these exaggerated angles,
so I’m here to help. Following these
steps, you won’t get those dreaded
pinched corners and bezels that
don’t fi t. I hope this project helps.PREPARE THE METAL
Depending on where you get
your bezel wire, it may need to be
annealed. If you gently bend the
bezel wire down and it stays put,
you need to anneal it. If you bend it
down and it springs back, no anneal-
ing is needed. I prefer not to have to
anneal my bezel wire.
To anneal bezel wire, roll it in
a tight coil, fl ux (I use paste fl ux
as a temperature indicator) and
heat. When the fl ux turns clear
throughout the coil, that means it
has reached 1100 degrees and the
bezel wire is annealed. Remove the
heat and pickle.Draw the pattern, cut it out, and
glue it onto the sterling sheet with a
glue stick. Saw out the design and
fi le as necessary.MAKING THE BEZEL
Gently and loosely form the bezel
wire around the piece, then cut
the excess bezel wire so you aren’t
working with a long unruly piece
of wire. Start off by pressing the
bezel wire fi rmly against one of
the angles. Press at the bottom
and top of the angle, then move
on to the next angle. Work your
way around the piece using your
fi ngers.
Tip: I know, I know — everyone
says, “Do not close your seams at
a corner,” but I’m a rogue jeweler,
and I sometimes close my bezel at
the least noticeable corner. It’s up
to you, but I have found this works
well for me.1
Once the angles are set, go back
with your fl at nose pliers and
confi rm each angle: this means
squeeze the pliers tightly where the
angle bends, and bend the bezel
over the pliers to a sharp angle. This
will ensure a snug fi t for the stone.
At the bottom angle, the sharp
point, leave approximately 2 mm of
bezel wire (a mm is the thickness
of a dime) and snip off any extra
bezel wire.2
Fit the end of the bezel wire
around the less obtrusive angle
(on this piece, the bottom point)
which sometimes needs a tiny bit of
a curve at the very end to fi t around
the angle. Use the very tips of the
round nose pliers to achieve this tiny
curve. Fit the ends of the bezel wire
together, snip off any tiny bit that’s
left, pickle, and solder closed with
hard solder. Pickle and quench.1 2
Go Fly
a Kite
42 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST
42 Erickson_GoFlyAKite_mayjune20.indd 42 3/16/20 3:44 PM