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Nothing catches the eye quite like a ring completely covered in diamonds.
This style of setting is called pavé, and it creates some of the most dramatic jewelry out there.
Pavé is a French word meaning pave - like pavement But think more like a cobblestone street.
In the pavé style jewelry, many small gems are set very close together.
It's like the jewelry has been paved with diamonds. Now, let's take a closer look.
The pavé style is a form of bead setting.
The first thing to understand about bead setting is that the gems are set directly into the surface of the metal.
So, how is bead setting done?
First, a hole is drilled into the metal surface
which makes a concave impression just the size of the stone.
Then, the gem is placed into that impression.
Then, the jeweler uses a finely pointed tool
to push tiny bits of metal over the edge of the stone.
Finally, the jeweler finishes the metal by rounding and smoothing it into a bead
thus creating a bead set gem.
Now for the pros and cons. First, the pros...
Pavé looks gorgeous. It’s like the jewelry has been dipped in diamonds,
and unlike highly polished gold which can get scratched, pavé always sparkles.
The main con of pavé style jewelry is that since there is such a small amount of metal holding the gems in
there is a greater chance of them falling out if they weren’t set properly to begin with
or if the ring gets hit particularly hard.
However, since the gems are small, they are generally fairly inexpensive to replace.
The takeaway here is that cheaply made pavé jewelry will likely end up costing you more in the long run.
If you like the pavé look, it’s better to pay a little extra in the beginning and end up with a quality piece.
So, now you know all about bead setting, and how if you put several bead set gems together
So, now you know all about bead setting, and how if you put several bead set gems together
it can look like a cobblestone path...ok, let’s use the French word and make it more special: Pavé.
Thanks for watching. If you have any more questions, you can always come by at Arden Jewelers.
We can even point out some quality examples of pavé set jewelry.
Or, you can check out our website at: MyGemologist.com. Thanks.