|  Classroom
in a Box: Bezel and Flush Setting with Fragile Colored Stones and Diamonds
by Blaine Lewis
©2000 New Approach Video, Inc., VHS
approx. 150 minutes, $179
Reviewed by Tim McCreight
Several years ago, a friend who is a medical researcher invited me into
his lab to see his equipment. Working under his sophisticated microscope, I engraved
a few lines and examined a few textures I’d made. I was immersed in a world
I had only slightly known. It was exciting, daunting . . . and strangely reassuring.
This experience is now available on videotape thanks to a heroic effort by Blaine
Lewis, director for New Approach School for Jewelers in Virginia Beach.
“Bezel and Flush Setting” is a two-tape set that combines the author’s
years of goldsmithing experience with astonishing close-up views to create a new
level of instruction unlike anything currently available. The tape wastes no time
in getting down to business. Within the first few minutes, we are involved in
a flush setting. It is not an exaggeration to say that the view on the TV screen
exceeds common experience. This is not as good as being there — it’s
much better. Lewis’s careful step-by-step description of each project will
enable even a novice goldsmith to repeat the process. This is where the confidence
comes in. The detailed photography takes the mystery out of descriptions that
might otherwise be vague. When we see the relationships of stone shape, bezel
height, and tool location at this magnification, the logic of the process is crystal
clear.
Lewis has designed the tape around a gold ring that includes a faceted oval
amethyst, three brilliants (small round faceted stones), and a triangular diamond.
This well-considered arrangement allows us not only to see several kinds of settings,
but provides consistency and addresses the subtle issues that can arise when setting
multiple stones. Voice-over narration is accompanied by clear on-screen animations
that clarify the impacts and intentions of specific tools when used in certain
orientations.
The two tapes move logically through four settings on a single ring, then shift
to another ring to demonstrate setting a marquise diamond in a bezel. From here
we are led into a goldsmith’s Dream Studio, where Lewis demonstrates not
only a few of the top-end tools, like the GRS pneumatic tool, but also shares
some of the homemade tools he’s developed over the years. This section alone
justifies the cost.
If “Bezel and Flush Setting” were only a matter of clear instruction
through close-up photography, it would be a valuable tape and I’d be happy
to recommend it. What makes it a standout, though, is the innovation that flows
beneath each technique. Lewis is clearly a master of conventional stone setting,
but he has gone beyond familiar techniques to invent some tricks of his own. Evidence
of his enthusiasm for these is shown in the bundle of prototype tools that comes
with each tape. By providing not only clear on-screen images but also real handmade
models, Lewis goes the extra mile to ensure that any serious goldsmith with a
desire to master stone setting can do so.
And to cinch the deal, the author has devised a 21st-century, follow-through
program. Each tape is registered with an access code that will allow the owner
to visit a restricted section of his Web site. There, stone setters will find
updated information and have a unique opportunity to seek personal help from Mr.
Lewis.
We all know that there are some tools that are luxuries and others that justify
their cost by improving our skills and making us more efficient. “Bezel and
Flush Setting” will instantly confirm itself as one of the best educational
investments a jeweler can make. Blaine Lewis deserves tremendous credit for single-handedly
taking instructional videotape to a higher level. Interested jewelers are encouraged
to visit www.jewelryvideos.com
to learn more and preview two short excerpts from the tape.
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