Channel setting in jewelry
A channel setting holds a row of stones between two parallel walls of metal, with no prongs between them. Each stone's girdle, its widest edge, sits in grooves cut into both walls, and the walls are then closed over the stones to lock the row in place. It is common on wedding and eternity bands and on the shoulders of engagement rings.
3D Jewelry Designer1 min read
Stones and trade-offs
A channel usually holds stones of one size, set side by side. Round brilliants, princess cuts and baguettes are the common choices, and square or rectangular cuts can sit edge to edge as one unbroken line.
The walls cover both sides of every girdle, which protects the stones and leaves no prongs to snag clothing. The trade-offs are that the walls hide the edge of each stone and that the band is harder to resize, because bending the shank can loosen the stones.
Compared with other settings
A pavé setting holds small stones with tiny beads of metal raised between them. A bezel setting wraps a rim of metal around a single stone. A channel is closer to a bezel, but its walls run along two sides of a whole row.
In a 3D model
In CAD, each stone is usually its own object, and the channel and its stone seats are cut out of the band. Without those cuts, the metal weight comes out too high. The free metal weight calculator keeps stones modelled as separate objects out of the metal weight, counts them and totals their carats.
For the ring builder, the app counts the side stones in each band's 3D model and totals their carat. Cost-based pricing, off by default, can then price each one from its size tier: a price per carat plus a setting charge per stone.
Related
- Pavé setting in jewelry
A pavé setting covers metal with small stones set close together, held by tiny beads. How it is set, and what it changes in a 3D model.
- Bezel setting in jewelry: the rim that holds a stone
A bezel setting holds a gemstone in a wall of metal pushed over its edge. How full and half bezels work, what they protect and what they give up.
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