As a jeweler, I often forget that there are so many terms that the general public doesn’t know about. This is why I’ve been putting together some simple and easy to understand blogs about the different terms and verbiage! This article is no different. Today I want to go over the anatomy of the ring.
To begin with rings more often than not have a center stone. In a single stone ring, the stone would be called the center stone. In a 3 stone ring though, the same stone is called the middle stone. When designing a piece, the jeweler usually starts with the main stone. After that, everything else is complementing
Next up, we have side stones. The stones added around are often set to help draw the eyes toward the center (but not take away from it.) Usually, the height of the side stones or accent stones is set lower to achieve a step look. Often the side stones are set in a similar setting to the center stone, however, these additional stones may not be the same shape as the center stone. This leads us to the term “setting.” The setting is the metal piece or arms that hold and protect the stones. There are many different types of settings, such as prongs, bezel, tension, bezel, etc. I’ll be getting into each of those in another blog!
Of course, the most common piece of a ring is the band. The band, also known as the shank, is the main body of the ring, which wraps around the finger. The shoulders are the section of the band worn at the top of the ring. From the side, they look a bit like human shoulders and connect the band of the ring to the center stone. These are usually deeper than the rest of the ring which helps to blend the setting into the band. This makes it more comfortable to wear and helps to protect the setting and stone from being knocked.
Last, the least common part of the ring is a halo. This addition would be considered an optional add-on to a piece, but it certainly deserves its own mention! A halo is a row or rows of small diamonds, called “melees,” that border the center stone.
And there you have it! What other educational blogs would you be interested in seeing from me? Let me know in the comments!
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