HAND SETTING
for GRILLZ.

The foundation of all setting. If you can bezel set cleanly, you understand the principles that apply to every other style. We spend more time here than most courses because it deserves it. Round bezels → oval → freeform. Metal thickness, burnisher angle, edge cleanliness, and what to do when the metal doesn't want to move where you need it.

1. Bezel construction and seat preparation
2. Round bezel setting — the full process
3. Oval and fancy shape bezels
4. Freeform and irregular bezels
5. Common failures and how to recover

Four-prong and six-prong setting for round brilliants first, then fancy cuts. The specific challenge of prong setting is control — you're pushing hard enough to secure the stone but not so hard you chip it or crack the prong. Includes prong tipping and retipping, which is a billable repair skill in its own right.

1. Four-prong setting — the mechanics
2. Six-prong and claw variations
3. Fancy cuts — ovals, pears, marquise
4. Prong tipping and retipping existing pieces

Drilling correctly sized seats, controlling the graver for a clean flush finish, polishing after setting without disturbing stones. This style is hugely popular in contemporary streetwear jewellery — students can produce impressive work from this module alone.

1. Drilling and seat preparation for flush setting
2. Graver control for a clean flush finish
3. Polishing around set stones — the technique that doesn't dislodge

This is where it gets genuinely hard. Laying out a pavé field, consistent bead raising, keeping stones level and evenly spaced across a curved surface. You will produce imperfect work first time. That's expected and it's the point. The goal is understanding why it went wrong and what to practice — not producing a perfect piece on the first attempt.

1. Pavé layout planning — spacing, field preparation
2. Drilling seats across a curved surface
3. Bead raising — consistency and control
4. Keeping stones level across the field
5. Finishing and cleaning a pavé set surface

Setting on a tooth cap presents specific challenges that flat-surface training doesn't prepare you for. Curved geometry, irregular angles, working at compound angles. This module applies every technique from the previous modules specifically to grillz — pavé on a tooth cap, flush setting along a dental curve, managing the constraints of the form.

1. Understanding the tooth cap geometry — where it differs from a ring shank
2. Pavé on a curved dental surface
3. Flush and prong setting along edges and ridges
4. Managing compound angles — the practical solutions

How to inspect your own work. Stone security testing. The difference between work you'd sell and work you'd redo. Reseating a loose stone, recutting a failed seat, recovering from a chipped stone. What a professional standard actually looks like — and how long it realistically takes to reach it.

1. Inspecting your own work — what to look for
2. Stone security testing — how hard is too hard?
3. Recovery — loose stones, failed seats, chips
4. The honest conversation — what professional standard takes