05/28/2026
Today was a stone setting day for me. I was so excited to set this black garnet, but I ran into a few issues. The stone has an irregular shape so I had to modify the bezel, in doing so I made the bezel a little shorter than I would have liked. I still thought I could make it work, but as I was setting my bezel pusher slipped, I thought I broke the stone! I couldn’t tell if I did due to the jagged surface and after inspection I was only 30% sure I had broken it, but that was enough for me to have to double check.
So I sawed out the setting. Opened it up and discovered I had not broken the stone. (Yay!). But now I had to redo the setting and solder it back in. So yes, added time but also added peace of mind. I knew it would always bother me. Plus the second time I made the bezel higher for an even more secure setting.
Being able to re-do a piece like this is why I love working in metal. Nothing is ever ruined, just modified.