Oval Shaped Basket Setting

This is my sixth project in Stage 4 of the Silver Program at Jewellery Training Solutions. This was a challenging project and took me a couple of tries to complete. The first attempt was such a massive failure, it would have made for a great blooper reel on YouTube! Everything had gone great, until I wanted to nudge one last piece into place. Yep, everything fell apart!

What were the challenges?

The challenge in this one was to get all of the solder joints complete without destroying any of the previous joints. There are 8 solder points when putting the prongs on to the two ovals, and it was all done with hard solder. The first part of the challenge is to keep the two ovals in exactly the correct placement and then set the prongs in exactly the correct positions. Everything went so well the first time, until I wanted to fix “just one more thing.” The entire thing fell apart! The second time, I lost track of how many times I had to resolder prongs on when they fell off!

Where could I improve?

The placement of the prongs is not perfect, and I still need work in cutting the seat for the stone.

What did I learn?

This one is all about heat control, and it was great, if not frustrating practice! At least making the shaped band has become something I don’t blink at now! I remember the first one - it took me forever!