Jewelry Making Series – How Pearls are Mounted on Naked Silver Rings

Pearls are pure and precious. They come in various sizes, types, colors and shapes. They can be threaded to make necklaces, set with gemstones to make mind blowing earrings and mounted on rings to bond people together. The rings are set in metals like gold, platinum and silver. The process is basically infusing the stone or gemstone with the metal of choice in a way to create design.
Silver in its pure form is soft and so has to be mixed with other metals so that it is workable. The alloys of silver thus formed are used for making jewellery, vessels, shields etc. Sterling silver is one of the mixtures of silver. The advantage of this is that it does not get tarnished and hence maintains the jewellery in its shining form. Pearls are drilled half way and then the hole thus created is inserted with the setting bar and then glue is used to cement it to the metal. This is the basic process followed while mounting pearl on silver. There are many different types of settings that can be followed.
A prong setting is one in which the pearl is mounted inside the metal casket and is held in place by prongs or claws. The pearl and metal look very delicate and pretty. A variation of this is the bar setting in which bars are used instead of prongs to hold the gem. This is not a very secure setting even though the metal is exposed to the maximum. The bezel setting is unique and popular because in this the pearl is held in place by a circular metal band very securely. This setting is slightly more expensive than the prong setting but is definitely more durable. The flush setting sees the pearl set in the hole surrounded by metal that is pressed around its rim. The setting is very sleek and smooth.
There are very expensive settings like the tension setting. These settings use very strong metal and are customized to meet individual needs. The band of metal encircles the pearl and is the only binding between the gemstone and the metal. If these settings are resized then they might lose their strength needed to protect the gemstone. Channel settings use more than one gemstone. These rings do not have any focal point. The stones are set into channels in the ring band. The channels have narrow strips of metal on either side to hold them in place.
The invisible setting is a very modern design. The attachment of the pearl to the metal is not visible in this design. The stone rests stably attached by a band. These rings can be resized easily. The most elegant and beautiful setting is that of the pave setting. Ideally used for diamonds the ring is studded completely with stones in minute depressions with prongs. These rings are very expensive. The cluster setting design makes use many different gem stones to make patterns of flower or butterfly. The small gems create an illusion of a larger gem.