â¨Progressâ¨A little background for any who might be interested: Learning these types of settings has been a huge goal of mine over the past four years. The antique feel and glittering gems are just irresistible to me. Even after taking an amazing weekend bead setting class last May from a master engraver I still found the process intimidating and a bit overwhelming to attempt on my own. These settings may appear simple, but even with expert instruction the techniques involved take a great deal of time to not only wrap your head around, but years of practice to be able to skillfully execute the extremely precise motions needed. (Because the skills are so time consuming and difficult to master, many jewelry companies actually contract their stone setting work out to professional stone setters, whose job is setting stones in othersâ jewelry exclusively. Thereâs of course absolutely nothing wrong with this, but learning how to do advanced settings myself has always been a goal of mine. Professional stone setters are basically genius magicians and to have even 1/100th of their expertise some day would be a dream.) I finally decided the post holiday lull would be the perfect time to put in some of the hours and hours of practice Iâll need to do to excel at these techniques and am happy to be able to share some of my progress. Working on a curved surface proved to be a lot more challenging than the copper sheets Iâve been practicing on! These are pretty basic rings I fabricated with the sole intention of practicing on Silver, but I canât wait to start integrating some of these techniques into more signature designs and your custom pieces in the future! (Both of these rings are a size 7. Sterling with Black Spinel.) . . . #pavĂŠ #beadsetting #starsetting #antiquejewelry #riojeweler #slowfashion #ringstack #jewelrydesign #customjewelry #shopsmall #madeinsf #diy #neverstoplearning (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuKwmu4FGcK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1va0p5xuntspo