John Cogswell - Creative Stonesetting

Creative
Stonesetting

Creative

Stonesetting

John Cogswell

BRYNMORGEN PRESS
PORTLAND, MAINE

Copyright 2008

Brynmorgen Press

Designs of all the jewelry shown in this book belong to the artists.

Preceding page

William Richey, Ring

Platinum, gold, diamonds, topaz

Endpapers

Selection of settings made by the author.

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www.brynmorgen.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any storage and retrieval system except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, web posting, or broadcast.

ISBN 978-1-929565221

Ebook production: booqlab.com

CREATIVE STONESETTING

Ronna Lugosch | Ring
Yellow and white diamonds, 18k yellow gold, platinum .

Susan Jo Klein | Munsteiner Necklace

18k gold, carved amethyst, brown diamond. Center link, 4"

photo: Peter Groesbeck

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank my incredible wife, Barbara, for her unwavering support and assistance with this project (as well as a much-needed kick in the butt on more than one occasion). I cannot even begin to thank Tim McCreight enough for his oft-tested patience, understanding, and encouragement. Thanks to Barbara Kuhlman (now deceased, but always in my heart) for helping me to start down the path of this life I so love, to my wonderful teacher, mentor, and friend, Kurt Matzdorf, for believing in me, inspiring me and sharing all he knew with me. Thanks to Bob Ebendorf for his inspiration and support, and for introducing me to the workshop circuit. Finally, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the incredible students, both college and workshop, with whom I have trial-tested all of this material over the past three decades. We have all worked hard and played hard. This is for you all, with much love.

Introduction

In the competitive and highly specialized world of commercial jewelry, technical information is as valued a commodity as precious metals and stonesand is as closely guarded, too. Within this community, there is a widely held (mis)belief that divulging trade secrets is on a par with the illicit trafficking of documents relating to national security. The sadly mistaken notion that mere possession of technical information somehow confers an advantage has bred an atmosphere of silence and secrecy. Each fellow practitioner is viewed suspiciously as a competitor, which stifles discussion and sharing of mutual professional concerns and aesthetic issues. The attitude literally slows the wheels of progress.

Each individual is left to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. We all use the same tools and techniques; it is what we do with them that establishes our individuality. Sharing information is a good thing. When you know how to do something, you often just do it automatically, without much thought. When you have to explain to someone else what, how, and why you do what you do, it forces you to think about your work, and the more you think about your work, the better it gets. It is in the spirit of sharing that I offer this material on stonesetting, my way.

I decided to write this book for two main reasons. The first involves an issue of social responsibility; I am one link in a social order, a metalsmithing tradition, that stretches back to the dawn of human civilization, and which will, I hope, stretch even further into the future. As workers in precious metal, we areevery one of usstewards of our profession, privileged with the gift of information handed down to us (traditionally, mostly by word of mouth), perhaps adding a little something to it, and then passing it on. With privilege comes responsibility, and this gift of knowledge is actually less a gift than a loan. Though its ours to use for the brief time allotted to us, it is incumbent on each of us to pass what we know along to others. I take this responsibility seriously.

I was fortunate to have had excellent teachers and instruction as a student. Now I teach, and try to pass along the lore and wisdom that was entrusted to me. However, there is a severe limitation on the number of people I can reach directly, in person. Dimming eyesight, graying hair and a gradually increasing assortment of minor aches and pains leads me to suspect that I wont be able to teach one on one forever. So here I sit, hunting and pecking, a one-fingered keyboard wonder. It is my hope that this book will reach a larger audience, and for longer than I can.

My second reason for writing this book is simple: perceived need. I have long noted, with some degree of surprise and chagrin, that there seems to be a dearth of written information that deals specifically, in any depth, with creative stonesetting. By creative stonesettings, I mean unique, original settings designed and fabricated from scratch. There are many jewelry books that describe simple settings like the basic bezel, but they seldom explore the range of possibilities. Most leave the topic of stonesetting at that plain thin band of metal, and for too many people thats where the lesson ends. There are also a number of technical manuals that describe step-by-step techniques for mounting stones in commercial settings. These are well suited for trade jewelers, but they are of limited use to most studio craftspeople.

When commercially manufactured settings are well-made and properly used, they do what settings are supposed to do: hold stones. Because they are churned out by the thousands, they have a built-in anonymity that stems from their mass-produced look-alike-ness. More often than not, when we use them in original, handcrafted work, they look like tacked-on afterthoughtsfunctional, perhaps, but bland and featureless. They lack any correlation to the design of the piece on which they are mounted. Your commercial settings look just like everyone elses, and this lessens the visual impact of your work.

Anyone with competent soldering and fabrication skills can make the settings described in this book. Having the ability to create unique settings that are integral to a design greatly expands options and possibilities. You wont be restricted to the standard range of sizes and shapes commercially available. You can create settings for stones of any shape or size. And, there are other ancillary benefits, as well. As I say to my students: More different is often more better. Creative, innovative settings invite second looks. They add interest and freshness to your work. Also, in the process of learning how to assemble the settings described in these pages, I guarantee that your manual, technical, and design skills will improve. When you can solder the ten solder joints of a basic four-prong basket settingall with hard solder and all within a space no larger than a peaall of your other soldering jobs will be a breeze.