Set a stone is put in its rightful place in the jewel. And that means knowing the stone, metal, and have enough skill to not break anything, and guarantee the perpetuity of the work, an art difficult and challenging.

In the late Middle Ages the diamond's beauty highlighted by sophisticated mountings in the form of rosettes, letters and other symbols, and even adding short inscriptions or custom poems inside of them, so are obtained romantic and beautiful pieces.

With the aim to highlight the diamonds, the goldsmiths of the sixteenth century introduced the art of riding a silver foil on the bezel around the stone, giving the impression of favoring larger step reflects their sparkle. Same technique was followed with other precious stones by surrounding them with colored metal closest to the color of these (red rubies, green emeralds, etc.)..

It was the famous New York jeweler Tiffany who invented a setting formed by six small open platinum claws that join the stone to the rim of ring, exposing most of the facets of the diamond which could well be admired in all its beauty . This required using gems free of imperfections that in the antique mountings had been hidden.

A perfect setting is the best guarantee that the stone does not suffer from damage or loss during normal use of the jewel. This requires a sturdy metal, hard and deformable, especially in risky designs that, like Tiffany, exhibit the stone generously. The use of platinum for the setting has the double virtue of providing a rigid support and enhance the sparkle of diamond on the white surface of this bright metal.

While platinum is the ideal metal for the set with precious stones, especially diamonds, other metals are used for this same purpose, such as yellow gold, with color providing a range of contrasts very nice. Next to it, the white gold is used extensively for the same purpose, and significantly lower costs, and has virtually ceased to be used for this silver.

(...) As indicated, the setting of a gemstone is an essential aspect of this life, and for this reason in your care must introduce good practice to periodically review their pieces with precious stones for your jewelry and make sure that no risk of loss or damage. "

Source: www.veracruzjoyeros.com

"The set is of the most noble of the jeweler, who has to bring out the best qualities of the stone. Overall, there are three forms of crimping a stone: closed crimping, crimping with claws, spikes and grains, and invisible setting.

The closed setting is the oldest and solid. Consists of bending a sheet of metal on stone, completely encircling the height of the girdle. Thus, the stone is fully enclosed in a metal edge.

The settings with claws, spikes and grains are more modern. Its use allows separate visually the stone to the metal to make it stand better. The three possibilities are: bend over the table, ie the upper side of the stone, tiny metal claws subject to the bezel (bezel with claws); or bending a thin golden rods whose end is worked like a nail head (mounting with nails); or finally, folding a small metal chips called grains that are raised around the metal frame (bezel with grains).