Solitaire Ring Settings

About John: John is a Syzjewelry jeweler and business owner with 13 years of jewelry-design experience. This guide shares the five checks I make before a ring is finished and how to repeat them yourself.

Before a ring is finished I check five things: every stone, the size, the weight, the symmetry, and the hallmark.

The five checks

• Stones: each one lifted with a needle to test that it is held.
• Size: the finger size is measured, not assumed.
• Weight: weighed against what was quoted.
• Symmetry: both sides compared.
• Hallmark: struck and legible.

A signature is a liability, not a promise

Once the five checks pass, this one I sign. After that, a loose stone or a cracked prong is my repair.

What goes wrong

A loose stone or a cracked prong is what a skipped check leaves behind. Every figure in these notes turns into a repair, a resize or a remake if the last check is missed.

Running the same checks on a ring you receive

• Stone: confirm it sits firmly in its seat and every prong is intact.
• Size: try the ring on, or measure it against your finger size.
• Weight: compare with the listing if it states one.
• Symmetry: look from above and from the side.
• Hallmark: look for the stamp the listing describes.

Solitaires

On a solitaire there is one stone, so the stone check is the one that matters most.

Figures are ranges from my own bench notes. Actual practice follows each workshop's process card, order requirements and the current standard.

The types you can tell apart on this page are the center shape and the metal. Every title says solitaire. A few titles also say halo or prong. The chart counts those words.

How to choose

• Read the center shape in the title before you match a stone.
• Read the metal. Sterling silver is the most common metal on this page, then 14K and 10K.
• If the title says accent, it is naming side stones. Open that product page.
• 238 of the 243 titles say semi mount. The center is included only when the listing says so.