Stone Setting Comprehensive

In this onsite weekly course, students will learn a variety of stone setting techniques that can be added to their jewelry making practice.

Starting off with one of the more basic stone setting techniques, students will learn how to bezel set a round/oval stone, as well as a square or rectangular stone. Students will then learn how to make prong settings with a base plate as well as a more delicate, double-sided prong without a base. This course will additionally cover incorporating tubes into a jewelry design, challenging students with the more experimental “prong-tube setting” – a riff off of the classic prong setting technique. Finally, students will learn how to drill through stones to create a riveted bail, which unlike other techniques, does not require any sort of “seat” for the stone or the use of a torch!

The course will emphasize demonstrations on each of these stone setting technique. Students will complete a brass sample piece each week to solidify what they’ve learned. After learning and practicing, course curriculum will shift to making portion of the class. Students will be encouraged to design an original piece of jewelry that incorporates two (or more!) of the techniques they’ve learned or a series of work demonstrating their newfound skills.