Findings are the working parts of jewellery: the clasps, jump rings, ear wires, bails, bezel cups, heads and prongs that hold a piece together, hold it on the wearer, and hold stones in place. They are rarely the first thing a customer notices, but they are usually the first thing that breaks — which makes them a designer’s responsibility, not an afterthought.
Function first
Every finding has a mechanical job. A lobster clasp locks a chain; a jump ring connects parts and must be closed properly or it will catch and open; an ear wire carries the weight of a dangling earring and sets how it hangs. When a design calls for an unusual shape or weight, the finding has to be chosen for strength, not just for looks.
Design consequences
Good designers plan findings into a piece from the first sketch. Where the clasp sits changes the balance of a necklace; a bail’s size changes how a pendant lies; hidden versus decorative findings change the character of the design entirely. Knowing the standard catalogue of findings also tells you when a custom part is worth making.
Where to learn this
Findings are introduced alongside the essential vocabulary of jewellery in the foundation design programme at JDMIS — see the JD100 course page for the full syllabus, and the JDMIS jewellery blog for related design articles.
Frequently asked questions
What are jewellery findings?
The working parts of jewellery: clasps, jump rings, ear wires, bails, bezel cups, heads and prongs that hold a piece together, hold it on the wearer, and hold stones in place. They are rarely the first thing a customer notices but usually the first thing that breaks.
Why do designers need to know about findings?
Because findings change the design: where the clasp sits changes a necklace's balance, a bail's size changes how a pendant lies, and hidden versus decorative findings change the character of a piece. Findings must also be chosen for strength when a design is unusually shaped or heavy.
Explore further: find your Artisan Archetype — which maker are you? — or get an AI-guided course consultation.
The setting is how a gemstone is held in metal, and its history runs alongside the history of jewellery itself. The oldest surviving styles are bezels — a band of metal pressed around the stone’s girdle — used since antiquity because they are secure, simple to make, and protect the stone’s edge.
Why prongs took over
Cut gemstones changed everything. Once faceting maximised a stone’s brilliance, setters wanted metal to cover as little of it as possible. The prong setting — small claws of metal holding the stone at its girdle — lets light enter from nearly every angle. It is the standard for solitaire diamonds today precisely because it shows the stone and hides the setting.
The families in between
Between bezel and prong lies a full catalogue: channel settings where stones sit in a row inside walls of metal; pavé where dozens of tiny stones are held by small beads raised from the surface; and tension settings where the metal’s spring holds the stone apparently in mid-air. Each family trades off security, light, cost and surface texture differently.
Why designers care
A designer who understands settings draws jewellery that can actually be made, and prices it honestly: a pavé band is far more labour than a bezel band. Setting styles are covered in the design curriculum at JDMIS and executed at the bench in the metalsmithing foundation course; the gem side of the story is part of GT100 gem and jewellery trade knowledge.
Frequently asked questions
What is the oldest gemstone setting?
The bezel - a band of metal pressed around the stone's girdle - is the oldest surviving setting style, used since antiquity because it is secure, simple to make and protects the stone's edge.
Why did prong settings replace bezels for diamonds?
Once faceting maximised a stone's brilliance, setters wanted metal to cover as little of it as possible. Prongs hold the stone at its girdle and let light enter from nearly every angle, which is why the prong solitaire is the standard for diamonds today.
What is the difference between channel, pave and tension settings?
Channel settings hold stones in a row between walls of metal; pave holds dozens of tiny stones with small beads raised from the surface; tension settings use the metal's spring to hold the stone apparently in mid-air. Each trades off security, light, cost and surface texture differently.
Explore further: play Name That Gem, a free gem-identification game, or trace gems to their sources on the Gem Globe.
Going deeper: these are bench skills you can learn properly - the gemmology foundation course and the gem identification methods certificate teach identification with real stones and instruments.
Good jewellery design is rarely a happy accident. It is the purposeful combination of a small set of visual elements — the building blocks of composition. The six that matter most to a jeweller are line, shape, form, texture, colour and space.
The six elements
Line directs the eye and sets the character of a piece — hard lines read architectural, curves read organic. Shape is the two-dimensional outline the eye reads first. Form is the three-dimensional reality of the finished piece on the body. Texture — polished, matte, hammered, granulated — controls how light plays across surfaces. Colour comes from metals, gemstones and enamels together. Space is the negative areas that let a design breathe, and the relationship of the piece to the body wearing it.
Elements versus principles
The elements are the vocabulary; principles such as balance, contrast, rhythm, emphasis and unity are the grammar that organises them. A designer’s judgement shows in how deliberately the elements are deployed — repetition of a shape for rhythm, contrast of matte and polish for emphasis, restraint in colour for elegance.
Training the eye
These elements are taught, practised and critiqued in the design programme at JDMIS, starting with the foundation design course and deepening through illustration and colour. You can see them at work across the pieces in the school’s jewellery blog.
Frequently asked questions
What are the six elements of jewellery design?
Line, shape, form, texture, colour and space. Line directs the eye, shape is the two-dimensional outline, form is the three-dimensional reality on the body, texture controls how light plays across surfaces, colour comes from metals and gemstones together, and space is the negative area that lets a design breathe.
What is the difference between elements and principles of design?
The elements are the vocabulary; principles such as balance, contrast, rhythm, emphasis and unity are the grammar that organises them. A designer's judgement shows in how deliberately the elements are deployed.
Explore further: find your Artisan Archetype in JDMIS’s visual quiz, or get an AI-guided course consultation.
Visual reference
Take it further: the sculptural jewellery and mixed media course builds on these design elements in metal.
Gem cutting began with beads and polished dome shapes; faceting came much later, and both survive because they do different jobs. A cabochon — a gem with a smooth, domed top and a flat back — is the older style. A faceted stone carries a pattern of flat polished faces that together act as a machine for returning light to the viewer’s eye.
What each cut does with light
Cabochons show colour, phenomena and interior texture: the star in a star sapphire, the eye of a cat’s-eye chrysoberyl, the banding of agate all live in domes. Faceting is for transparency and brilliance: the cut angles are computed so light entering the top of the stone reflects off the back facets and exits through the front. That is why faceted stones are judged on proportions, and why a badly cut stone looks glassy no matter how fine the rough.
Choosing as a designer
Designers choose cut style on material, meaning and wear. Opaque and phenomenal stones want cabochons; transparent stones usually want facets. Mélée — small faceted stones in calibrated sizes — fills a design with sparkle at controlled cost, and calibrated cabochons of standard diameter drop into standard bezel findings. Drawing both accurately, including the ellipse of a cabochon’s dome and the facet planes of a cut stone, is part of design training at JDMIS (JD100 fundamentals, JD300 illustration); the gem materials themselves are covered in the gem trade course.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a cabochon and a faceted gem?
A cabochon has a smooth domed top and a flat back; a faceted stone carries a pattern of flat polished faces computed so light entering the top reflects off the back facets and exits through the front.
Which stones are cut as cabochons?
Opaque and phenomenal stones: the star in a star sapphire, the eye of a cat's-eye chrysoberyl and the banding of agate all live in domes. Transparent stones usually want facets, where they are judged on proportions and brilliance.
What is melee in jewellery design?
Small faceted stones in calibrated sizes that fill a design with sparkle at controlled cost. Calibrated cabochons of standard diameter similarly drop into standard bezel findings.
Explore further: play Name That Gem, a free gem-identification game, or trace gems to their sources on the Gem Globe.
Going deeper: these are bench skills you can learn properly - the gemmology foundation course and the gem identification methods certificate teach identification with real stones and instruments.
Visual reference
If the elements of design are the building blocks, the principles are the rules of assembly. They are the reason one combination of shapes feels resolved and another feels wrong. Six principles do most of the work in jewellery: balance, proportion, contrast, rhythm, emphasis and unity.
The working six
Balance is the felt stability of a piece — symmetrical balance mirrors forms around an axis; asymmetrical balance equalises visual weight without mirroring. Proportion governs the size relationships between parts, and between the piece and the body. Contrast — of texture, colour or scale — creates interest. Rhythm comes from repetition and progression, as in a graduated stone line. Emphasis decides what the eye lands on first, usually one focal stone or form. Unity is the sense that every part belongs to the same idea.
Why it matters commercially
These principles are not academic: they are how a designer answers a brief reproducibly. When a client says a design feels “off”, the diagnosis is almost always one of the six — usually balance or proportion — and the fix follows from naming it.
Learning the grammar
JDMIS teaches the elements and principles as a working toolkit inside its design certificate courses — see the design fundamentals course and the illustration course where they are applied to colour and light.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main principles of jewellery design?
Balance, proportion, contrast, rhythm, emphasis and unity. Balance is felt stability, proportion governs size relationships, contrast creates interest, rhythm comes from repetition and progression, emphasis decides what the eye lands on first, and unity is the sense that every part belongs to the same idea.
What is the difference between symmetrical and asymmetrical balance?
Symmetrical balance mirrors forms around an axis; asymmetrical balance equalises visual weight without mirroring. When a client says a design feels off, the diagnosis is almost always balance or proportion.
Explore further: find your Artisan Archetype in JDMIS’s visual quiz, or get an AI-guided course consultation.
Visual reference
