Cold Connection Bezel Setting

 While enjoying the new compression rivets I decided I should try a stone setting.  I never mastered the soldered bezel since I don't have a hot enough torch, but I have seen this method of cold connection bezel before and wanted to try it.

 
This is my first one.  I decided to make the backing abstract and add patina to show off the stone which is an Apple Green Jasper slab.  

The "bezel" is actually a cut piece of copper with four tabs or prongs that hold the stone.  The back is concealed and attaches to the backing piece with rivets. 

 
There's a lot of planning for a project like this!  Honestly, I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did for a first attempt.  The back is quite hidden and the tabs fit the stone quite snug, although I did add a dab of glue to the back of the stone just for an extra measure of security.
The three rivets are done with the flat side on the inside to allow the stone to fit snug against the bezel piece.  

The outer piece is an abstract cut copper sheet.  Both pieces were dunked in liver of sulfur for patina color.  Later I went over them with steel wool and a polishing cloth.

 
I then added a few rivets in copper and bronze just for aesthetics, and the final touch was another rivet at the top that also holds the copper wire loop for stringing. 

(finished photo here)

This was really fun!  I can see more projects like this in my future.  I highly recommend this bezel method for those of you who do not have a hotter torch, or who just prefer a cold connection. 

This finished up nicely!  I added some big bulky chain and it could be worn by anyone, another goal of mine, to be more gender neutral in my designs.

 I used a larger rivet for the top piece that holds the loop.  

More coming on this hardware series as I get more ideas that are creating a theme around the Viking's SheildMaidens.