A gemstone setter is a specialist within the jewellery industry who has been trained in the art of setting gemstones in jewellery. Setting stones is a specialised skill that requires a steady hand and years of experience.

Over the years Erwin and Joke have specialised in cobbled mosaic settings, which are stones that are set very closely and fittingly together. This method of setting is very labour-intensive because the holes the stones come into are not drilled beforehand and have to be protruded or drilled out of the metal. An engraving cutter or burin is used to lift and push a little bit of the metal over the edge of the stone. A perloir, which is simply a steel shaft with a hollow pit in its tip, is then pushed onto the piece of metal, rounding and smoothing it, pushing it firmly onto the stone, creating a “ball”. All this is done with a microscope and angelic patience.

With Erwin, all my jewels are in good hands.