Fine Silver 999 Plain Bezel Strip

If you're setting stones in silver, fine silver bezel wire is what we recommend using. Fine silver (999) is noticeably softer than sterling silver (925), which means it bends over a stone much more easily and is far less likely to crack or spring back when you're burnishing it down. It's the material we use in the studio and in our bezel setting classes.

This bezel wire is custom made for Pod Jewellery at 0.4mm thick, which gives you the right balance between being easy to work with and substantial enough to hold a stone securely once it's set. Too thin and the bezel feels flimsy; thicker than this and it becomes harder to push over the stone cleanly.

It comes in four heights: 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, and 5mm. Choosing the right height depends on the depth of your stone. As a guide, the bezel wall should sit just slightly lower than the height of the stone at its girdle, so it can be pushed over cleanly without covering too much of the face. We keep all four sizes in the studio so we have the right height on hand for most stone sizes.

The 2mm and 3mm wire is dead soft and ready to use straight from the pack. The 4mm and 5mm wire is medium hard and benefits from annealing before forming, which makes it easier to shape around your stone and gives you a cleaner result.

A note on the 2mm and 3mm sizes: we recently changed manufacturer for these two heights after our original supplier had quality issues producing a straight edge. The 2mm and 3mm wire now comes from an Australian manufacturer in Queensland. The quality is excellent and the edge is straight and clean.

Worth knowing:

• Custom made for Pod Jewellery, 0.4mm thick, available in 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, and 5mm heights
• 999 fine silver, softer and easier to set than sterling silver
• 2mm and 3mm is dead soft, ready to use straight from the pack
• 4mm and 5mm is medium hard, anneal before forming
• Available individually in 50cm lengths or as a four-pack with all four heights