Not all settings are created equal

Pavé setting

In Jewelry, there are various kinds of settings. Each has its technique, but all require skilled craftsmanship for an outstanding result. I will not discuss all types of settings here and elaborate on what defines each type to be good or bad. I would rather take on a particular type of setting, pavé (beads setting), for my article.

Diamond ring from http://www.tesori.no. Click to zoom and notice the high-quality setting

Pavé is the French word for paved or cobblestoned. Many jewelry terms are derived from the French vocabulary as French craftsmen invented most of the jewelry techniques. I like to use the French terminology because it gives a unique finesse when talking about high-end jewelry. Pavé setting is simple and consists of drilled holes in the metal where the stones will sit, and beads will surround the holes to secure the gems on the metal. The image on fig. 1 illustrates this type of setting.

There are many variations of this type of setting as well as finishing quality. In mass production jewelry, the prongs are often not rounded nicely, and there is a lot of metal shown between the stones. For the inexperienced eye, such quality might look ok but for those who knows the difference, bad pavé can be spotted instantaneously. The matter of doing a good setting with nicely rounded beads is not only advantageous from an esthetic point of view but also from a quality assurance perspective. Good setting can make an item very nice and also will reduce the chances of stones dropping.

A bad pave setting

Bad pave

Nowadays, most of the pavé settings are done with the assistance of a microscope (hence the term micro-setting). Using such equipment allows the setter to have enough magnification to be able to control better the beading of the prongs and cleaning of excess gold. However, producing an item with a top quality setting requires skilled craftsmen regardless of the usage of a microscope or not. The below photos of the Ribbon watch from Patek Philippe are set so perfectly that one may think it is a work of a machine.

Look at the perfectly drilled holes and erected beads of this watch by Patek Philippe

High-quality setting of the Ribbon watch from Patek Philippe.
Only highly skilled setters can do such a neat job

Patek Philippe Ribbon watch.

A beautiful watch by Patek Philippe

 Depending on the metal type, setting ranges from easy to difficult. For example, setting on stainless steel is not only extremely hard but also could result is disastrous results if the setter is not skilled. Stainless is very hard and while pulling metal to form a bead, the metal might tear and if this happens, repair is not possible. This if the surface is not preset and is drilled after. This kind of work is done on items that are not made to be set from the start. To note that in such cases, it will not be possible to have perfectly rounded beads.

Sometimes we get orders for setting of watch bezels, and we take extra care and attention for such orders and we let only our best setters do the job. Below some of the stainless steel bezels, we worked on.

Setting on stainless is a difficult job

One small mistake can make this bezel unusable

There is one particular type of setting called "snow setting" which I like very much. I consider it a variation of pavé because the stones are set in a similar fashion, but their sizes and arrangement are different. Stones of different sizes are arranged next to each other in what looks like a random arrangement. Such kind of setting gives the item a unique look, and little metal is displayed and the surface could be arranged into impressive displays. This type of setting is mainly used in watches or large surfaces on which such distribution can be made. Have a look at the below photos of watches with snow set diamonds and sapphires.

Hermes watch snow set.

Jaeger LeCoultre. Snow setting allowed his beautiful art pattern

 So next time you buy a pavé set piece of jewelry, look at the finishing and make the right choice. You will have not only a nice item but one that will last for many years without stones dropping.

Ready made or made to order?

No, this is not a to be or not to be question or to cover or not to cover as discussed in a previous blog. It is a personal choice, and both can be good ones when it comes to purchasing jewelry. Most of websites selling jewelry offer a set of ready-made jewelry that you can select. Choices can be very large, and you can always find what you desire. Some websites offer 3D visual representations of jewelry that physically is not in stock but manufactured when ordered. I already discussed the 3D representation of jewelry in a previous blog.

Comparing ready-made jewelry with made to order is like comparing apples and oranges. They both can be good, and they serve the same purpose but in a different way. You would buy a very nice ready made item that fits your style, and that you can cherish through generations. For a more personal look, a more distinctive style  you can order a piece of jewelry to be made specifically to fit your taste and liking. Such jewelry can give you a unique feeling and makes you stand out. When you order a bespoke jewelry item, you are putting your signature into it, your personal taste. It also gives you a sense of gratification and success. Such feeling reminds me of the movie Cast Away featuring Tom Hanks. When he made fire, he was so happy and felt success as he achieved something he never tried before but knew about it, and when he did it, it gave him gratification and feeling of victory:

Look what I have created ! I have made fire ! I... have made fire!

I have made fire!

When you buy a ready made jewelry piece, you can say that it took you some time to look for the perfect item that you had in mind. From the thousands of items readily available online, you could pretty much buy a unique item that can make you stand out. After all, you scowered the net to look for the perfect item that you wanted to have. That's also is somehow a personalized experience. You could find similar items, but it can take some time and that what makes your picked item almost unique (you can even try to find your look-alike if you visit this site). The below dome ring is currently under production. It is not a made to order item but will be ready made for sale. How many of such design can you easily find on the net? You can, but you won't find many; therefore, such ring can look like a made to order item that you will associate with.

MW dome ring, side view

MW dome ring, front view

MW dome ring, profile view

I will not start my sentence here with a "However" or a "But" because as I said at the beginning of this blog, it is not an article about which is better. Therefore, when you buy a made to order jewelry piece, you can pretty much say: Look what I have created, I have made my jewelry!

Very few online sites offer such bespoke service because it might be an expensive experience to the consumer. It is not necessarily as a costly decision, but a very rewarding one. You will have the choice of the design, the metal, the diamonds and gemstones and their qualities. In the end, it will be made for you and only you. How more personal that can be?

Some interesting facts about bespoke jewelry I grabbed from this blog:

The spectacular necklace with largest pear-shaped White Nacreous Pearl ‘La Peregrina’ was sold for $11.8 million. The giant natural pearl belonged to eight generations of Spanish kings between 1582 and 1808. Elizabeth Taylor received it as a Valentine’s Day gift from Richard Burton in 1969. Inspired by a 16th century portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, Taylor commissioned Cartier to design a new mount of matched natural Pearls and Rubies. It was designed by Taylor with Al Durante of Cartier to offset La Peregrina.

Yes, the above necklace was a hefty financial experience but the owner could afford it. Regardless of the price of the bespoke ordered item, what matters most is that the owner will wear something made specifically for him/her and according to his/her input on design and specifications. We produced the below made to order pendant requested by one of our business partners Tesori and commissioned by one of his clients.It is a very simple gold pendant engraved with the letter "O" and we followed the exact measurements the client requested.

As you can see, not all the time it costs a small fortune to order a bespoke piece. Once again, not all companies offer such service because they look into the feasibility of such projects from the financial benefits. Since we do not mass produce and we consider ourselves the extension of our client's business, we do offer such special services regardless if it is lucrative or not. Tesori, who sells high-end ready made jewelry, also offers custom made orders. They offer excellent personalized services to their clients, so we share the same values hence making our partnership  a perfect business match.

"O" pendant with client's requested measurements. Courtesy of Tesori Norway

"O" pendant rendering. Courtesy of Tesori Norway

So whether you decide to buy a ready made jewelry piece or design your own, make sure that item will be a precise fit for you or your loved ones. Make it fulfill you with that "I have created fire" kind of feeling of achievement.

Watchmakers assembling the Constant Escapement movement - Girard-Perregaux's new movement with new escapement. Photo courtesy of Luxury-Insider

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Quality comes at a price. I think most of you agree with this and look no further than Apple products as an example. The price of the iPhone can be double of a Samsung phone or any other good mobile out there. iPhones are not only expensive and not necessarily better than an Android phone but despite their price, people queue by the hundreds and even thousands to get one when a new model is out. The iPhone reflects style and quality of the make. The materials used are the best, and the design is as perfect as it can be. I use a Note 4 due to personal OS preference, but I consider the iPhone the most beautiful phone ever built.

Such design and materials used are a result of hundreds if not thousands of hours of R&D. Why rounded corners and not square? Why aluminum and not plastic? Why thin but not too thin? Why the buttons here and not there? Many why’s that cost a lot of money to produce the many because’s. When you flash your iPhone you feel different in front of people looking at you, you feel your product has character, identity, uniqueness. It is a product you can identify as an iPhone from a distance. It makes you feel different.

What has an iPhone to do with jewelry? Well, nothing. However, the quality of any product comes at a premium, and the iPhone was a simple way to illustrate this reasoning. You cannot possibly get a high-end product for bargain prices, at least not in the conventional shopping way. In jewelry, this concept is not only a de-facto but a necessity. Jewelry is a commodity, and it is only called jewelry because it is supposed to be made of expensive materials. Real jewelry needs to have character, an identity. A real piece jewelry should talk to you and call you to buy it. It should tell you: Hey, I am expensive and not in vain but for a reason. Buy me, and you will be investing in something that will worth every penny because I will become part of your heirloom. I will make you feel good when you wear me because people will give you compliments, and some of them will envy you because you will stand out.

On many occasions I received requests for manufacturing jewelry with some conditions or requirements: We want it bold, beautiful and cheap. We want the best and the cheapest. We want it to look valuable, but we want it cheap. This mentality in the business can work with companies that produce en masse. Those who do not care much if the ring was well polished from the inside, if the prongs are round or if there are some diamonds with chips and nicks. It works for people asking for the bold and beautiful for the price of the bald and ugly. People who don't care much about detail because their customers are not that knowledgeable about how real jewelry should look like-I am bald by the way, but my wife finds me handsome, lucky me.

You want to wear Prada, Gucci, Dior, LV, Dolce & Gabanna?- I am not talking to you Elton, I love your music but also would not boycott D&G- or any other couture brands out there, you need to pay the price. You need to pay the price, and you will get what you pay for, and that is: Quality. You want to pay peanuts you will only get replicas, and it won’t feel the same, it won't look the same, it won't make you stand out.

Genuine Happy Diamond Icons watch by Chopard. 18k white gold and diamonds. Retailed at approx. $35,000. Ladies will be very happy to have one

Cheap make replica of a Happy Diamond Chopard Icons watch. Sold for $250, just google it. This watch won't make you happy even as a desk ornament.

I am not implying that one must only buy branded jewelry, no. If you can most definitely do it. What I am trying to convey is that if you need good quality jewelry you need to be ready to pay the price. You want luxury then you need to accept paying for its value. When you go to drink and get drunk, you don’t count the glasses right? There is so much “jewelry” out there that is sold so cheap and at the same time real jewelry is only known by the few.

A superb ring (I don't know by who) and excellent photography by EpicMind Studio. The design and the quality of the make expose the full beauty of this wonderful center diamond.

In my humble opinion, this is an equally poorly executed ring. This center diamond is expensive, but the mounting's design and quality only diminish its value

Women would say that they know a man by his shoes. I totally agree with this because the shoes reflect in a way the style of the person and his personality. For women, I can say the same by looking at her shoes and bag. A stylish lady with beautiful clothes, shoes, and bag but wearing some low-quality jewelry will just demolish her looks. If you need to wear any, wear one good piece rather than many that do not reflect quality. Real jewelry will be the icing on the cake.

Since the days I could afford to buy my stuff or spending at leisure, I have a principle that I follow. If I cannot afford quality, I wait till I can but I don’t accept anything close just for the sake of having it. When I bought my home theater, I had in mind to get quality audiophile equipment. I had a budget, but that budget did not allow me to buy even the entry level audiophile equipment. I could buy a very nice home theater from any commercial brand out there, but I decided not to because I demanded quality. When I had enough to be able to purchase the equipment I wanted I built a very nice home theater that kept impressing me till today. I am talking about 15 years ago when I bought my home theater, and I still have it until today and it still does not stop impressing me and my friends on the quality of sound it produces. I paid a hefty price for it (well substantial for what I could afford) but I did not regret one minute, and every penny I spent on it was worth it. Some of the equipment might be a bit outdated compared to what is available now but still it stands out and is an excellent setup. If you are curious to see my setup, you can visit my humble home theater page.

Last week I went on a trip to the north of the country and I wanted to buy a toy car for my son since he is obsessed with cars. I fell into the very illusion trap that consumers fall into. I saw two cars, one costing $50, and another that was very similar and looked good and all but cost only $10. I went for the cheap saying to myself that my son will break it anyway after a few days so for 10 bucks is worth it. Besides, it looked good and looked as good as the more expensive car. When I reached home and gave my son the car, after only 5 minutes of play he came to me waving some signs with a look of despair and disappointment. The wheels broke, the tires were off and one of the lights was not flashing anymore. He was looking at me with the hope that I could fix his car and put a smile on his face. Little he knew that daddy paid peanuts for that toy and if he knew, he would rather enjoy eating real peanuts than playing with a worthless car.

My father always tells me that expensive is cheap, and it is so true- Dad I did not listen to you only when I bought that cheap toy for Vito :-). When you want to buy a piece of real jewelry, save until you can purchase one good high–end quality piece. An expensive item that is worth the money you are paying will stay with you for long time and can be passed from generation to generation. Look at the vintage jewelry made by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and many other renowned jewelers for example. They are worth even more nowadays and are coveted by collectors.

Vintage Alhambra Van Cleef & Arpels necklace. Simplicity makes beauty and quality expose it. I think it retails at $15,000.

A picture worth a thousands words. Selling at $15 (hanger excluded).

Meanwhile and until then, you can indulge in wearing some faux-Bijoux but don’t spend on cheap jewelry. Save for that one unique piece that will make you stand out and give you a feeling of satisfaction and pleasure. After all, fashion is a style, an attitude, a character, a way of life and identity, and so is jewelry my friend. Monkeys do not have style, and peanuts are not caviar.

To cover or not to cover

On common jewelry, you can often see rings that have some cavity in the inside. Such cavities are for the sole purpose of saving gold, thus reducing the cost of the ring. Such techniques are usually apparent in commercial mass production jewelry. When it comes to fine jewelry, saving gold will compromise on the quality of the item and won't affect the price vs. the value of the piece. It is much more valuable to make the item look sturdy and nice than just save a few dollars on costs. It is like producing an Aston Martin Vanquish and installing synthetic upholstery instead of real leather. A picture worth a thousand words so let me further explain with illustrations:

This cavity is unnecessary and applied for the purpose of saving gold. The savings here is not much (less than 1 gram) but the damage caused to the look worth much more than the savings.

Same goes to this ring. The saving here might be a gram or a bit more, but it is also a larger ring. This cavity makes the ring look cheap and could be uncomfortable to wear.

So what should be done in order to have an item that looks beautiful, does not have excess weight and is comfortable to wear? Cover the open areas with a solid gallery or a patterned one. The below photos will illustrate my point:

The design of this ring required that it has two levels thus resulting in a necessary cavity. A patterned gallery covered the inside hollow. You can still see through the heart patterns, but it gives the ring a better look than without the gallery.

This eternity band's stones holes go through for maximum color output and so that dirt would not stuck under the stones. A nice patterned gallery was made to cover the inside empty area. It covers the drillings in the back to the maximum and gives a nice look to the ring. Imagine this ring without a gallery at all, you would see holes all over the ring, and the ring will be unnecessarily heavier because the covered empty area would be not empty but solid.

The same goes with this ring. The inside of the bottom of the shank is solid. The top where you see the gallery has to be empty because the holes drill through. If no gallery is present, then the empty area would be solid and unnecessary add weight and thus cost to the ring. The gallery is done as separately and lasered to the piece upon filing.

Another angle of a ring with a patterned gallery.

The bracelet has a pattern gallery that matches the design of the front. It is advisable that the patterns be as close as possible to the design and when possible, to have the same pattern as the front of the piece.

The above illustrations show how patterned galleries can cover the hollowed section of the inside of rings. As I also mentioned, such galleries can be solid depending on the design. Rings using such galleries will look like they are solid inside. Take a look at the below images for examples:

This Cartier ring could have a solid shank without a full gallery to cover any cavity. But could also be hollow to a certain extent from the inside and then covered with a solid gallery. My say is that it is a solid ring; Cartier won't save on gold. At any rate, you will never see a hollowed shank from the inside from Cartier.

Another example of a solid gallery. The black like you see inside near the stamp is not a soldering line but reflection from the metal.

Although this ring appears to be solid from the inside, it is not. It is hollow to a certain extent and then covered by a solid gallery. Attention to details is crucial here because if the gallery is not soldered properly, the illusion of a solid ring will be lost.

Sometimes you might have designs that cannot have a gallery and at the same time you need to make sure that the back finishing is of a high end. The below photos illustrated a finishing pattern called à jour (French word) that leaves the stones pavilion facets open to the light. This honeycomb shaped finishing gives a very nice high finish to the item. It becomes not only a camouflage technique but a necessary part of the design that gives the item a high-end look. Take a look at the below images for a better understanding:

A gallery on this brooch would kill the design and add unnecessary weight of the piece. Honeycomb openings fulfill the purpose and also reduce the weight for wearability purposes.

À jour openings are not easy to make. Not only skilled craftsmen are needed to make perfect honeycombs openings but each hole must be thread polished for maximum quality. A time labor intensive and expensive but necessary technique.

So to cover not no to cover? When you can, you should cover and when you cannot, you need to be creative and apply various techniques that will preserve your high-end look and finish of a jewelry piece. After all, fine jewelry is art and art deserve attention and style.

High end jewelry

What is high end jewelry? Better put, what can be called high end jewelry? This can be a very debatable question and at the same time a question of a clear cut answer. The musts have of fine/high end jewelry in my opinion:

• Must be practical, wearable, comfortable 
• Must be fine in quality of make/technique and materials
• Must be made from a genuine original concept design

After 25 years in this business, in my humble opinion, any piece of jewelry that does not carry all of the above is not of high end. I am not in any way degrading other kind of workmanship but only differentiating high end from normal kind of jewelry; again, in my humble opinion.

• Must be practical, wearable, comfortable:

Not to go into too many details or many examples, I prefer to mention a very simple example for a wedding band. A wedding band is a very simple circular ring made of a metal. As much as it is a simple design, it can be done in many ways but only one way is a good way to make it fit into this first criteria of high end jewelry. A wedding band should be a nice outer shape and an even better inner form, it must be comfortable to wear and at the same time elegant.

The below images will show you that by making a wedding band outer side domed or "bombée" as they say it in French will give the band a high end finish. As much as important, is to give the inner side also a domed shaped for a comfort fit, thus making the ring fall into this very first important criteria. Producing a non comfort fit ring will make it practical and wearable but not comfortable as the comfort fit.

Both are wearable but the comfort fit

has a better feeling.

Standard fit vs a comfort fit ring.

Notice the nice domed shape of the outer
section and the comfort fit inner part.



An high end engagement ring

with a comfort fit construction.

Another fine example of comfortable and practical jewelry are earrings. Earrings should not be heavy and should not hurt the ear by applying pressure to the flesh. Depending on the weight and form of the earrings, an omega clip or alpa/butterfly system is used. Small studs and light weight earrings have alpa or butterfly system whereas bigger items have omega clips that give a very good level of comfort to the wearer. In addition to grooves that we make on the omega clip, we use clip earring cushions made of silicon. These pads will make the earrings very comfortable to wear for many hours.

These pair of earrings could be considered

heavy to wear by some. Mainly due to the

weight of the drops.

A good way to save on the weight

and have a nicer shape/cut for a

drop is a pendeloque cut drop.

You can notice  that it is not a full

briolette but more like an almond

if you like from a profile view.

This flattish shape not only makes

the drop lighter but also gives an 

elegant look to the earrings.

Gripper Silicone Earring Cushions

add an extra level of comfort to the wearer

• Must be fine in quality of make/technique and materials:

There are so many ways a jewelry item can be made and to most of the consumers, all jewelry are made equal. A jewelry made in a fine quality of finishing a technique can last for very long time and won't lose on its value. Pieces made by Cartier and other renowned jewelry houses many years ago still are wearable and their value increase with time; they become vintage classic jewelry. Those jewelry houses created a name for themselves by producing jewelry with the highest finish and techniques of craftsmen who are true artists.

Many so called "jewellers" create items made of copper wire, stainless, and many other non precious materials and call them jewelry.  According to the Oxford dictionary, jewelry means:

"Personal ornaments, such as necklaces, rings, or bracelets, that are typically made from or contain jewels and precious metal"

Yes, you read it right: "precious and jewels" and not "non precious and pebbles." If we are to consider the term jewelry to define any ornament then not all jewelry are created the same. Hence I come to my second point that fine jewelry must be made of fine materials. Yes sometimes jewelry contain non precious materials such as wood and leather but bear in mind that when used, the finest qualities are applied so the final product is to be considered of a high end.

A real jeweller always inspect a piece of jewelry looking t the back of the piece first. The back is more important than the front because in jewelry, the back of the item is considered the foundations of the item. When done properly and with the finest finishing an technique, and item will without a doubt end up a beautiful piece of art. We can within seconds tell if an item is of high end or not by looking how it was done at the back. There we can find all imperfections and poor assembly techniques that can degrade an item.

Below you can see pictures of a 18k (fine metal) center piece of a necklace. Pay attention to how the wires are soldered (technique/high finish), how well polished they are (high finish), and how the whole piece has volume (technique) and is not flat. Finally how the diamonds are set with nice beaded gold prongs (technique/finish)

Side view with a nice volume to the piece

Front view. Look how the 2 steps and inclination of the cups

give a good volume and feel to the piece.

Back view of the piece. See how clean and neatly

soldered the wires are. The good metal polishing

is essential for a high finish.

Nice beads on the setting expose the diamonds in a

very elegant way foe maximum stone exposure and

minimum metal appearance

• Must be made from a genuine original concept design

Since not all jewelry are not created equal, they must originate from a genuine unique design. We all get inspirations but a fine jewelry item must have an original idea and execution. I won't elaborate further on this point and I will let a photo of a bangle we produced for a client do the talking.

This post was a long one and I hope you enjoyed it and give me a g+ if you liked it. Bye for now and until next post.

Perhaps inspired by Van Cleef and Arpels, we produced this beta splenden bangle
from an original concept. It was made of 18k gold with diamonds

, rubies, and pink and black mother of pearl inlays.