Making the Rex claw setting

Examples:

Notes:

• Anneal and bend a rectangular piece of sheet into a U shape using mauns and pliers
• cut off the curved end off the sheet, then bend into a cone shape an solder the join
• cut off the bottom of the cone using saw
• Mark out and cut the eight claws holding the cone in your round nose pliers
• file eight small triangles below the claws, these act as light holes
• solder the bottom and top of the setting together using sweat soldering technique
• buff and polish the entire setting to a high standard

I found this setting quite hard to make! Bending the sheet at the beginning took me ages because it required a lot of elbow grease, although this method is less wasteful and traditional, I think in future I would cut out the U shape. I also found cutting out the claws very fiddly, however when Immy told me to hold my setting in the round nose pliers it made this process SO much easier. I also didn’t file the light holes deep enough, which only became apparent after the setting was soldered together. Therefore I had to take it apart, file more and then re-solder. Although this was annoying, it was worth the effort! Buffing and polishing was straight forward. I’m glad we have been taught how to traditionally make settings because it’s something every jeweller should know and could be helpful in the future.