How to use stones in jewellery making

Jewellrery stones, usually made from fine Swarovski crystal, are a useful addition to bead jewellery, because it adds a professional touch to designs. They are not drilled, so can't be threaded, which means they have to be set in frames in order to be used. There are two main types of frame.

BEZELS

The first, known as a bezel or clawsette frame, consists of a metal casing which is designed to exactly fit a particular stone size. So you need to match the frame to the stone. In our range, we have two sizes of navette stone(shaped like a church window) and one large size of chaton, a round facetted stone with a flat top. We find that large stones look particularly effective, so we have concentrated on those in our range.

To use bezel frames, the stone sits inside the frame, and is kept in place by simply closing the little claws(or clawsettes) over the stone, using pliers. Take care when doing this; it's best to close one claw, and then the one at the opposite corner, and then follow on from there. This prevernts the stone from riding up on one side and becoming skewed in the setting. To see our range of stones and frames of this type, click here.

CASTINGS

Smaller stones work best if glued into settings, since the claws become very hard to use if they are too small, and also, they tend to obscure the stone in smaller sizes. So castings are the answer, which are solid metal shapes or stampongs designed with wells to take specific stones. We have just introduced a new range of these castings, with stones already glued in, in attractive colour combinations. You can also buy kits and do the glueing yourself. The secret to doing this effectively is to use the correct sort of glue, specialy designed for this purpose. Do not use superglue! As the vapours arising as the glue dries tends to cloud the stone's surface. Other glues can be used, but tend to be stringy, which can also mar the surface.

Here is some advice on glueing in stones:

To use the glue, just allow it to ooze from the tube, to make a tiny droplet, and then drop the stone in, cone back down. It’s best to put glue in all the wells first, as it’s easier to do that than individually. If the stone drops in upside down, don’t worry, because you can right it by using a small pin, and any glue left on the surface of the stone will dry clear.

Follow these links to view our ranges:

pre-glued cast metal settings

kits

stamped settings - blanks