Introduction
The holiday season is about to begin – Halloween is coming on the 31st of October. We all love to shop for sterling silver jewelry during the holiday season – it’s true that during the holiday season, we witness one of the biggest sales for jewelry. Looking at the facts, it is estimated that Americans spend almost $700 million just on jewelry during the months of November and December. If you have your eyes set on jewelry, especially handmade jewelry, then this blog will be quite useful for you – in this blog, we will discuss the most popular jewelry settings, the bezel setting. It is not something new – the origins of the bezel setting can be traced back to Greece, ancient Egypt, and Rome.
The bezel setting is quite popular nowadays, for instance, if you look at the bezel engagement rings that are sold at most retail stores, you will tend to observe a metal rim encircles the gemstone. The presence of a metal rim encircling the gemstone characterizes the bezel setting. Let us discuss what bezel setting is, what are the pros and cons of bezel setting, and much more in this particular blog.
What is the Bezel Setting?
The bezel setting consists of a solid, continuous metal band that surrounds the gemstone (like sapphire, ruby, amethyst, etc.) from all sides and holds the gemstone securely in its proper place. The band (which can also be called a rim or sheet of metal) usually overlaps the edges of the gemstone, giving the stone set inside the jewelry a snug fit. The bezel also stops any movement of the stone and eliminates all chances of the stone falling out of the jewelry. Not only is the bezel setting aesthetically appealing, providing significant protection to the stone, but it is one of the oldest ways in which jewelry was made – if you look at vintage and antique jewelry designs at museums, you will find that they possess the bezel setting.
History of Bezel Setting
As mentioned above, you can trace the origins of this setting to Rome, ancient Egypt, and Greece. These civilizations used the bezel setting while making jewelry items in order to protect the valuable stone from loss and damage. With time, the bezel setting evolved – talking about the Middle Ages, refinement happened in this stone setting – the jewelry of the Middle Ages featured more intricate designs, showing the craftsmanship of the jeweler. The jewelers of the Middle Ages popularized bezel settings as the settings that could not only hold softer stones but also prevent the chipping and cracking of these softer stones. In the Renaissance, jewelry with bezel settings became extremely popular among royalty, nobles, and other affluent classes. If you dive deep into linguistics, you will find that the word “bezel” originates from French, and roughly translates to “a stone with two angles”. Modern English has a different definition of the word ‘bezel’ – the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines bezel as “a metal rim of a piece of jewelry in which an ornament (such as a gem) is set”.
Types of Bezel Setting
- Full Bezel Setting: This style has the metal rim completely encircling the stone, thus offering maximum protection to the stone while also giving the jewelry a more refined, modern look. It is ideal for softer gemstones like azurite, malachite, calcite, and gypsum in which you need to prioritize the durability of the jewelry.
- Half Bezel Setting (semi-bezel): In this setting, the bezel partially surrounds the stone, usually from two sides, allowing more light to enter the stone. This is why this half-bezel setting is preferred in faceted stones, like sapphire, ruby, diamond, and Citrine, where you wish to show the brilliance of the stone.
- Scalloped Bezel Setting: This particular setting has narrow scallops or grooves along the bezel, adding a unique visual appeal to the overall jewelry design. Generally, the scalloped bezel setting is used in bezel engagement rings.
- Open-Back Bezel Setting: Just as the name suggests, the open-back bezel setting has an open bottom, thus allowing more light to enter the gemstone, thereby enhancing the brilliance of the gemstone. If you are worried that this setting is not secure, rest assured – the open-back bezel setting also offers the same level of protection as the full bezel setting.
- Double Bezel Setting: In this setting, two concentric metal rims or bezels hold the stone in its place, and they also add depth to the design while giving an element of dimensionality to the design.
Why Choose Bezel Setting in a Bezel Engagement Ring: Pros and Cons of Bezel Setting
Nowadays, the bezel setting has become a popular choice for engagement rings. The reason behind this is a bezel engagement ring offers a modern, clean look while also providing security to the gemstone at the center – the metal rim or bezel securely holds the diamond or gemstone in its place. But there are some disadvantages of bezel settings as well. Let us discuss the pros and cons of bezel setting one by one.
Pros of Bezel Setting
- Enhanced Security: The bezel setting holds the stone tightly in its place, offering maximum protection and security to the stone. Since the metal rim or bezel encircles the stone, there are close to zero chances of the stone falling out or becoming loose.
- Offers protection to soft stones: This setting also offers protection to delicate and fragile stones. The metal rim surrounding shields the gemstone from all sides and reduces the chances of the stone getting potentially damaged.
- Low Profile Design: Since the bezel setting offers a low-profile design, it reduces the likelihood of tearing and snagging onto clothes and other similar items.
- Illusion of Size: When you will look closely at your bezel engagement ring, you will discover that the setting itself creates an illusion where a smaller stone appears larger since the metal rim surrounds the stone from all sides.
- Conceals Flaws: The bezel setting successfully hides flaws and minor inclusions that are present around the edges of the stone.
- Easier Maintenance: The bezel setting, especially the hammered bezel setting, tends to accumulate less dirt and grime than other settings like the prong setting and tension setting because there are no small crevices in the setting’s design.
Cons of Bezel Setting
- Reduction in Stone’s Brilliance: The main drawback of this setting is it reduces the sparkle and brilliance of the gemstone because the bezel that encircles the stone limits the amount of light that can enter the stone.
- Higher Cost: Because the creation of a bezel setting is a time-intensive as well as labor-intensive process, and also because additional precious metal is used in the creation of a bezel engagement ring, it can be more expensive when compared to other settings, like the prong setting.
- Bulky Appearance: Some people might consider the bezel setting to be bulky – you will definitely find the bezel engagement ring a little bit chunkier than other engagement rings. Although the bulky style is loved by people who prefer statement jewelry, it is not liked by people who prefer more lighter and delicate dainty jewelry.
Our Final Thoughts
Now, you know everything about the bezel setting. You now understand what bezel setting is, you know the history of the bezel setting, the types of bezel setting, and also the various pros and cons that are associated with this stone setting. With that being said, would you like to purchase bezel engagement rings and other jewelry items with a bezel setting? We, Rananjay Exports, are India’s biggest wholesale gemstone jewelry manufacturer and supplier, and we deal in various types of handmade jewelry and sterling silver jewelry. As you browse at Rananjay Exports, you will realize that you have ample amount of choices to pick from – we work with more than 250+ different gemstones, and our wholesale gemstone jewelry range has quite many options to choose from.
