Four Claw Solitaire

This is the fourth project from Stage 6 of the Silver program at Jewellery Training Solutions. I have to say, I especially enjoyed this project, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. I’ve been making jewelry for about 16 years, but before about six years ago my focus was on chainmaille and I knew very little about soldering or fabrication. In 2014, I truly kicked it into high gear, so to speak, and wanted to learn as much as I could. In all of these years, I just assumed I would never be able to make something like this, so this makes me feel very happy.

What were the challenges?

Making these claw settings are definitely a challenge, but I enjoyed this method more than others. It did, however, take me a couple of tries! The hardest thing for me to do when making these is to get the bezel ring in exactly the right place and level.

Where could I improve?

Unfortunately once I got the setting all soldered in I realized that it was slightly crooked. Luckily I was able to compensate for this when setting the stone, so it’s not very noticeable. The notches in the claws where the stone sit are pretty rough, although I can definitely see improvement in my stone setting abilities.

What did I learn?

One thing I especially love about the JTS program is that Peter demonstrates many ways to accomplish the same end, whether it’s making a certain style shank or setting a stone. He introduced a new method this time for both, and I really enjoyed both of them. The shoulders were made by sawing and lifting part of the existing shank into place. The stone was set using ball burs.