One commonly overlooked aspect of jewelry is the quality of the setting and goldwork. While good jewelry settings are obviously important to the average consumer, they are absolutely vital to the jewelry investor. High quality jewelry with excellent goldwork can usually be expected to appreciate in value over time. On the other hand, poor quality jewelry settings make for pieces that are far less desirable, ultimately fit only for scrap.
Now I will readily admit that a lot of jewelry falls between these two extremes, being merely acceptable or mediocre. However, mediocre isn't good enough for the jewelry aficionado or investor. These dedicated collectors want the best of the best. I suspect many other people aren't satisfied with mediocre either.
When you finally come across a truly exquisite piece of jewelry, it is almost like a religious experience. Dripping with gold and precious gems, a handmade piece of elegant jewelry transcends the banality of everyday existence. It is the stuff of legends and myths. No wonder people have coveted the very finest jewelry for thousands of years.
But there is a catch. Really high quality jewelry is incredibly uncommon. More specifically, jewelry settings with high quality goldwork are unusual. Most jewelry mountings come from giant factories today, many of which are located in China. You can imagine the kind of quality you can usually expect from these sources.
Of course not all factory supplied jewelry settings are bad. That would be an oversimplification. But the very best jewelry settings tend to be handmade. Hand fabrication allows for an attention to detail and a flexibility that elevates jewelry-making from a simple vocation to a superb art form.
In today's world, it only tends to be expensive designer or artisan pieces that are hand fabricated. However, many decades ago, even relatively modest pieces of antique jewelry were often partially hand fabricated by a jewelry master. This old world craftsmanship is another unfortunate casualty of the modern age.
The first thing to avoid in jewelry settings is porosity or pitting. These manifest as tiny bubbles or holes in the precious metal. In addition to being unsightly, they also weaken a piece of jewelry, making it more likely to break during normal use. Porosity is most commonly found in cast pieces. Incidentally, porosity is the reason you should never buy "recycled" or "green" jewelry that comes from broken or scrap jewelry. Jewelry scrap can contain significant quantities of solder and other impurities, often leading to poor casting results.
A good jewelry setting will also have no excess or messy solder visible on the back of the piece. In fact, if used properly, it is almost impossible to tell that solder has been used to join two elements in a piece of jewelry. But hack goldsmiths will leave sloppy joints with blobs of extra solder due to their lack of skill. In addition, some poorly trained goldsmiths will use under-karated solder because it has a lower melting point than fully-karated solder, thus making it easier to work with.
The next checklist item to watch out for is irregular or bulky prongs. These are a surefire indicator that your jewelry was made by a rushed, careless or bad goldsmith. Bulky prongs will cover far too much of a mounted gem, reducing its brilliance and beauty considerably. Irregular prongs will also give a piece of jewelry an unattractive, asymmetrical appearance.
Roughly or poorly finished jewelry settings are almost as bad as irregular or bulky prongs. This is best assessed by looking at the back or other hidden portions of a piece of jewelry. Lazy jewelers or goldsmiths will leave these concealed areas of jewelry rough and coarse because they aren’t typically visible when the item is worn. However, a rough finish can easily get caught on clothing and is a universal sign of poor quality jewelry.
In contrast, thoughtfully and skillfully constructed designer or artisan jewelry will have excellent finishes everywhere. Even the back of these high quality settings will be superbly finished. Investment worthy jewelry often looks just as good on its back as it does on its front.
Finally, good jewelry settings will exhibit balanced lines, interesting contrasts and appealing forms. While this takes some experience to easily spot, it is obvious once you've developed an eye for it. In comparison, cheap or mass produced jewelry settings will feature derivative, boring or awkward forms. They will also tend to have bulbous or otherwise unattractive lines.
While many people believe the purity of the gold in fine jewelry drives its value, this is rarely the case. Once a piece is 14 karat (58.3%) gold or better, purity is largely irrelevant. Instead, the skill and care that went into the creation of a piece of jewelry is much more important. Truly fine jewelry settings combine beauty and rarity into an irresistible package. They are the bedrock of any investment grade piece of jewelry.
