Setting Tools

Bezel wire is a thin strip of fine silver used to make the setting that holds a cabochon stone in place. You cut a length to fit around the stone, solder the ends together to form a ring, then solder that ring to your piece and push the metal over the stone to secure it. Fine silver bezel wire is easier to push over than sterling because it's softer, which is why it's the most commonly used type for cabochon setting.

Fine silver (999) is softer and pushes over a stone more easily, which makes it the most practical choice for beginners and for most cabochon settings. Sterling silver (925) is harder and more resistant to pushing, so it takes more force and a bit more technique to get a clean set. We stock fine silver bezel wire in several widths to suit different stone heights.

The core tools for bezel setting are a bezel pusher to push the metal over the stone, a burnisher to smooth and harden the edge once it's set, and a bezel roller to rock the bezel down evenly around the stone. You'll also need a pair of snips or shears to cut the bezel wire to length, solder to join the ends, and files or pumice wheels to clean up the finish. Our Jewellers Stone Setting Tool Kit brings the most-used tools together if you'd like to get started without hunting everything down individually.

A bezel roller, sometimes called a bezel rocker, has a smooth, curved tip that lets you rock the bezel metal down over a stone in small, even strokes. It's especially useful for getting an even set around the full circumference of the stone without creating high spots or pushing one side down too far before the other. The Bezel Perfect Roller is the version we stock and use in the studio, and it's one of the most-reached-for tools once you're doing bezel setting regularly.

They do different jobs in the same process. A bezel pusher is used to push the metal over the edge of the stone in the first pass, working around the stone to bring the bezel down evenly. A burnisher comes in once the bezel is mostly down, and is used to smooth, harden, and compress the metal to give a clean, polished edge and a tight, professional-looking set. Both are worth having. The Steel Bezel Pusher and Prong Pusher covers the first job, and the Curved Burnisher or Agate Burnisher handles the finish.

It's not essential to start, but it makes a real difference once you're doing any detailed work. A loupe lets you inspect the set closely to check the bezel is sitting evenly, spot any gaps between the metal and the stone, and see the finish clearly before you consider a piece done. We stock the Triplet Diamond Cut Loupe at 10x magnification, which is the standard for jewellery bench work.

Yes, especially if you're new to bezel setting and want to avoid buying tools one at a time. The 7-piece kit includes the core hand tools used for setting cabochon stones. It doesn't include bezel wire or solder, so you'd pick those up separately depending on the stones you're working with. We also have free bezel setting videos on the site that walk through how each tool is used in practice.