7 Essential Stone Setting Tools

A Shopping List to Get Started

- DEB BRANDT

Stone setting in a nutshell involves securing a gemstone in a metal fixture to best display the stone’s qualities. Knowing how to set a stone well is an essential jewelry-making skill.

Gemstones are typically set in prongs. Prongs hold the stone in a basket-like cradle. It can often look like a stone is glued into a setting; however, prongs provide a safe and secure place for the stone to rest. Prongs are bent toward the stone after it is seated between them. Then the tops of the prongs are dressed or trimmed and finished by rounding their edges.

Setting stones requires a knowledge of the stone itself and the available setting metals, plus the right set of tools.

Recently, I visited my cousin Doug Brandt’s jewelry studio, Collingwood Metalworks, to discuss what stone-setting tools should be included on a must-have list. A professional jeweler for over 40 years, Brandt offered ideas on tool essentials as well as building skills to the professional level.

Here are the seven tools that should be included in a stone setter’s workbox.

1 Ring Clamp