WHAT ARE PAVE OR BEAD SETTINGS?

I love pave set diamonds!

Pave set (also called bead set) diamonds have changed the face of jewelry today.

The modern age:

Pave settings are what turned white gold on its head 20 years ago.

It used to be that white gold wedding sets were a thing of the past. They were old looking and antique and just didn’t cut it. They looked liked your grandmother’s mother’s engagement ring.

Old, worn, out of style.

My how times have changed.

When jewelry stores started carrying these cool, new pave set designs, the industry went hog wild.

Pave added a whole new dimension to wedding sets and bridal rings. They were now different, fresh and beautiful. White gold pave sets (like these pave mountings here) became all the rage. Everyone had to have one… And still do.

I can’t blame them.

Pave is “it”.

So what is pave?

What are pave set diamonds?

Quite simply, pave is a setting that holds small diamonds almost flush in the mounting by little beads (drops or dollops) of gold or metal (little baby prongs).

Pave is actually french meaning “paved“. And that’s because rows of pave-set diamonds often give the appearance of cobblestone roads.

Take a look at some cool examples below:

Pave settings look wonderful.

They are like one big blur of diamond.

Endless diamonds running up and down the mountings. How stunning. They tend to enhance an engagement ring or solitaire greatly (see some incredible pave set engagement rings here). It makes any ring sparkle and dance with light. It gives it that extra “POP!”

If you run your fingers over pave set diamonds they should feel like smooth little nubs. They shouldn’t feel rough or stick up too high. Smooth and rounded beads that don’t get caught or snagged are perfect.

They’re safe too.

Pave settings are usually pretty safe and protected as well. I doubt you’d ever have to fix them or repair them. They’re pretty simplistic. The beads sit low so they don’t wear down as much. You won’t be bumping them or hitting them. You won’t be knocking the diamonds loose… They really seem like a winner.

And they really liven up any mounting. They look great in white gold (my favorite), and they give any jewelry that clean, crisp, classy feeling. Nothing gaudy or distracting.

Just sleek!

So now that I’ve made them sound so awesome, are there any downfalls to pave setting?

Just one…

Pave mounting downfalls:

Sometimes the edges of the diamonds chip.

Since jewelers have to push the Beads down on top of the diamond’s edge, sometimes the diamond can’t take the force and breaks.

Plus, if they are setting the diamonds too close together and they happen to overlap… That could also cause them to crack.

My advice:

Scope the diamonds.

Take a closer look at the mountings, beads and stones set (use a microscope or a 10x jeweler’s loupe). You want to make sure that the beads are actually covering the edges of the diamonds (holding the diamonds in – You’d be surprised how many pave set beads aren’t doing their job).

Make sure the diamonds aren’t set crooked or on an angle (this happens sometimes when a corner of the diamond is pushed down too far), and check that the edges of the diamonds aren’t cracked or broken.

Pave is the best on the market.

To me, pave settings are the best looking mounting on the market.

They are stylish, hip, young, fancy and elegant.

They tend to look like a million bucks!

Now, if only every road was paved with diamonds…

Check out all the pave set engagement rings here!

Cheers! :)