Stone Setting Terminology

Bead Setting - is the setting of a stone freehand in to a jewellery product. In other words, the jewellery die has no claws to guide the jeweller when setting the stone. A hole is drilled where you want the stone, then the stone is set in place. Using a claw tool, the jeweller opens the metal on either side of the stone and raises it up and over the edge of the stone to secure it with either 2 or 4 of these hand made claws. The benefit of bead setting is that it allows for the addition of stones at any time, providing there is the room on the item. since it is a freehand setting, visual differences in the exact placement and look of each of the claws from product to product will occur. On that note, we cannot guarantee a match setting from piece to piece or year to year with this method.

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Claw Setting - is the setting of a stone in an item that on the finished product has a starburst already incorporated into the die. As a result the claws are already in place for the jeweller to set around the stone. This is a sure way to guarantee an exact placement of the stone each time as the starbursts are included in the artwork before the die is made. However, the starburst will show on the product and cannot be removed before the item is made. It is a permanent fixture in the dies, but is tasteful and allows for future stone setting and encourages motivation to strive for the future stones.

Starburst/Claw Setting	Bead Setting