In antique jewelry, it was common for a gypsy setting to have a star shape surrounding the gemstone. The star was formed with a graver (a commonly used jeweler’s tool). This tool pushed the metal around the stone to form prongs. Dealers and collectors alternatively refer to this style as a star setting and less frequently as a graver setting. Some of the prongs or metalwork in this type of antique setting can look crude. The star technique was not used for all antique gypsy settings. On occasion, the metal would completely surround the stone to hold it in place (pictured)—without any shape around it. This loss of the star shape evolved into the modern-day gypsy setting. Even with its shifts in design over time, the gemstone still appears to sit flush with the surface of the metal. This remains a constant feature of gypsy settings. Rings made with modern gypsy settings have the stone sunk into the metal. Jewelers most often call this a flush-mount setting, and they appear more sleek and contemporary compared to antique gypsy mountings. Developed during the mid-19th century in France, invisible settings were perfected and patented by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1933 as the “mystery setting” (also called the “mystère setting” or “invisibly set”). Technological advances in cutting techniques caused a resurgence in popularity in the mid-1990s. It is common to find costume jewelry pieces dating back to the 1930s using rows of pressed glass stones to simulate the invisible setting technique. This may come close to emulating the look, but it does not duplicate the same complicated construction process. It is believed that this ornamental beading style was derived from ancient Etruscan jewelry construction techniques. In the mid-1800s, the Castellani family jewelry firm in Italy revived the popularity of the Etruscan gold granulation (or beaded) art form. Millegrain settings became especially popular for use in jewelry made with platinum around the turn of the 20th century. These settings are a typical feature of the highly embellished garland style found in Parisian belle epoque-styles and Edwardian-era jewelry. The style remained popular up through the art deco era of the 1920s and 1930s. This jewel-encrusted look has been copied prolifically in modern costume jewelry (pictured, brooch from the late 1940s). White metals are often used with colorless stones for this process since they blend together to enhance the paved look of a piece. Colored stones can also be pave-set in either monotone versions or alternate colors to produce a striped look or rainbow effect. Named for Tiffany & Co., which invented the setting in 1886, it was an innovation at the time. Traditionally, stones had been set deep into the band’s shank (the gypsy setting). The Tiffany-style setting is also a standard for stud earrings. The overall appearance is essentially unchanged since its introduction, though the prongs have become slimmer over time. The first Tiffany settings were made of platinum. Since the white metal is nearly invisible against a diamond, a Tiffany-set diamond ring seemed to float on the wearer’s finger. Tiffany-style settings can be crafted of any type of metal such as sterling silver or plated base metal and may include imitation stones, too.
