Stone Setting in Wax
Learn to set two types of stone in wax: brilliant cut and cabochons
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Learn how to add gemstones to your own jewellery designs in wax which can then be cast into silver, gold, rose gold or other metals!
Join us for this intermediate online course to help you develop your skills in wax carving. Wax is an accessible technique that allows you to create designs that would be difficult to make using traditional silver techniques.
WHY WAX?
Wax is so flexible - you can make one off bespoke pieces or whole collections. Wax carving is also a very affordable way to work with gold as you only use the exact amount of metal that you need.
THE CASTING PROCESS:
Once you have made the original wax piece you take it/send it to your local 'casters' to be cast into the metal of your choice! AND you can have as many copies as you like! Perfect for running a jewellery business as you can make pieces and collections that can be cast many times over.
Take a look below at some of the pieces you could create...
If you are ready for the next challenge then this is the perfect course for you. Our lovely tutor Sophie Arnott will guide you through how to carve wax designs for faceted and cabochon stone settings.
You will learn to apply your designs to your wax piece, remove excess wax and create a seat for your exact stone. Following that, Sophie will show you how to file your wax piece into shape, remove any file marks and sand and refine the piece ready for casting.
What Techniques are covered?
- Designing a piece of jewellery in wax
- Faceted stone setting in wax
- Tube setting in wax
- Cabochon stones in wax
- How to carve your wax to fit your exact stone (particularly useful for irregular shaped stones)
- Ring making and making a setting for soldering onto a pendant/bracelet etc
- How to prepare your wax piece for casting
- How to set your stones once the cast metal is returned
& more
Note: this course is suitable for those that have some wax carving experience. We recommend that you have taken our Beginners Wax Carving course or can work at that level before starting on this course.
Your Instructor
Sophie Arnott is an experienced designer/ maker with her own jewellery brand (Anvil & Ivy Jewellery) she teaches at the London Jewellery School studios in Hatton Garden as well as at her own workshop.
This course includes:
- 5 Bite-sized video Lessons (covering the two stone settings)
- A complete set of downloadable course notes
- Tools and materials list
- Support in the Facebook group
Tools and Materials
Tools
- Bench peg
- Cutting mat
- Sandpaper 400, 600, 800 and 1000
- Swivel pin vice with 5mm stone setting burr (note - setting burr needs to be the same size as the faceted stone)
- Drill bits - 1.5mm and 3.5mm
- Wax ring sizer mandrel
- Ring sizer mandrel
- Needle files
- Wax needle files
- Pair of dividers
- Sharpie
- Max wax heat pen
- Scalpel/craft knife
- Double ended wax file
- Rubber thimble
- Metal ruler
- Ring sizer
- Carving tools, Sophie used Wolf wax carving tools in project 2
- Piercing saw with wax saw blade
- Acetone/nail varnish remover
- An assortment of drill bits and stone setting burrs (size required depends on stone size)
- 3M polishing papers
- Pendant motor or Dremel with flex shaft attachment (ensure you read the instructions and safety guidelines before using)
- Ball burr for pendant motor (used 1.5mm-1.8mm in project 2)
- Safety glasses
- Bezel pusher
- Burnisher
Materials
Project 1: Faceted stone setting
- 5mm round faceted stone
- Wax tube piece cut to 11mm thick
- When cutting the wax tube leave 3mm either side of the stone size that you choose. In this example, the stone is 5mm in diameter so we have added 6mm on when deciding on our size
Project 2: Cabochon stone setting
- sheet wax thick enough to hold your cabochon
- wax tube cut to your required size and design
Suppliers
A list of worldwide jewellery tools and material suppliers can be found here
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