Crafting coral earrings with unseen settings
By Roland Auer
In Europe, it’s common for customers to request a pair of earrings that consist of just gemstones. They want a pure gemstone appearance with no distracting elements, such as metal settings. Many jewelers will explain to customers that it’s not possible, as every stone needs a setting. I’ve never liked that reaction, so I experimented with a few techniques to provide me with a satisfying solution to this problem, and one that comes as close as possible to fulfilling the customers’ wish.
1. For this project, I am working with six round corals in three sizes. To create this type of setting, carve a channel around the outside of each stone. [In this project, I’m only carving a channel into four of the corals, as two will be set differently.] When deciding on the location of the channel, make sure it’s far enough toward the back of the stone that it’s not visible from the front, and also that there’s enough weight below the channel so the stone is balanced and will hang straight. Cut the channels deep enough to accommodate the thickness of the wire you will use for the setting (in this case, 1 mm thick gold wire). Rubber-based grinding wheels are suitable for this project. You can also use diamond-grinding wheels where the diamond powder is embedded in a soft material, as metal wheels could easily damage the edge of the channel.
2. Shape the wire by bending it with pliers or wrapping it around a steel mandrel. Once the wire is shaped, insert it into the channel, making sure it cannot be seen from the front side of the stone. Once a proper fit has been achieved, remove the rounded wire from the channel.
3. Using a slightly thinner wire, create four small rings. Weld these rings to the open ends of the setting wires as shown.
4. From a gold tube, create four small bezels and set them with gemstones (here, I am using tsavorites). Leave enough space under the stones to hold and conceal the setting rings (see step 6). Weld a bezel to each of the two wires that will wrap around the middle earring segments; the bezels should be directly opposite the small rings.
5. Because the top settings will rest against the customer’s earlobes, make two gold bowls for the back of each one. The bowl should cover the backside of the stone but be small enough so it is not seen from the front. Weld an earring post to the back of each bowl, as well as a bezel-set tsavorite to the bottom of each.
6. Cut out an opening near the bottom of each bezel, large enough to accommodate the rings soldered onto the wire settings. Using a thin wire, make four rings that are slightly smaller than the bezels. To the underside of each ring, weld a small piece of wire so it is perpendicular to the ring.
7. Polish all visible parts of the settings. In this project, I plated the settings with black rhodium so they appear less dominant next to the coral.
8. To attach the wires to the corals, use a thin saw or cutting disc to cut open the ring and the wire setting. Insert the wire into the channel and use a laser to weld the wire and ring closed, taking care to avoid burning the coral. Make sure you have a strong connection to prevent this point from breaking.
9. For each earring, insert the rings attached to the two bottom coral settings into the openings of the corresponding bezels. Then place a small ring with the extra piece of wire into the bezel setting from the backside, closing the joint. The wire should be long enough to pass through the ring on the setting wire, securing the coral setting inside the bezel.
10. Using a laser, weld the small ring to the edge of the bezel setting. Welding the full edge in a circle will give you a strong connection and a smooth and solid joint.
11. To secure the top coral to a gold bowl, place the coral under the bowl and drill two holes at an angle through both, one on either side of the post. Push gold wire through each hole and into the coral. Weld the wires to the bowl.
12. With the top coral now secured to the bowl, cut away the ends of the wire and finish the backside of the bowl.