A claw setting is a method of securing a gemstone within a mount by means of slender metal projections — the claws — that grip the stone at or just above its girdle, holding it firmly while leaving the majority of its surface exposed to light. The term is standard in British and European jewellery practice; in North American usage the identical construction is called a prong setting, and the two terms are fully interchangeable. Because the claws occupy only a small fraction of the stone's perimeter, this setting style maximises the entry and exit of light through the crown and pavilion, making it particularly well suited to transparent diamonds and coloured gemstones where brilliance and colour saturation are paramount.

Construction and Geometry

Claws are formed from the metal of the mount itself — either cast as part of the head, or fabricated separately and soldered in place. Each claw begins as a vertical wire or post that rises from the base of the setting, curves inward over the girdle, and terminates in a tip that is pressed or burnished against the crown facets of the stone. The tip may be left rounded (a round claw), flattened into a small pad (flat claw), shaped to a point (pointed claw), or split to form a double claw — a detail frequently seen on larger solitaires and on Art Deco and Edwardian mounts.

The number of claws is determined principally by stone shape and size. Four claws are standard for round brilliants and cushion cuts in lighter weights, offering an unobstructed view of the stone from most angles. Six claws provide additional security for heavier stones and are the traditional choice for the classic Tiffany-style solitaire, first popularised in the 1880s. Fancy shapes — ovals, pears, marquises, and heart cuts — may employ four, six, or eight claws, with additional claws or V-tips placed at vulnerable pointed ends to protect against chipping.

Materials

Claws are most commonly worked in platinum, white gold, yellow gold, or rose gold. Platinum is preferred for high-value diamonds and fine coloured stones because of its hardness, density, and resistance to wear — qualities that reduce the risk of a claw thinning and releasing the stone over decades of use. White gold claws are frequently rhodium-plated to enhance reflectivity and resist surface oxidation. For coloured stones, yellow or rose gold claws are often chosen deliberately, as the warm metal tone can complement and intensify the apparent colour of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.

Advantages and Limitations

The principal virtue of the claw setting is optical: by holding the stone at its narrowest contact points, it allows light to enter the crown freely, pass through the body of the stone, and reflect back to the viewer with minimal obstruction. This is especially significant for diamonds, where the interplay of brilliance, fire, and scintillation depends on unimpeded light paths. For coloured stones, the open setting allows the full saturation of the body colour to be perceived without the shadowing effect that a bezel or channel can introduce.

The setting's limitations are equally well understood in the trade. Claws are vulnerable to snagging on fabric and to gradual wear, particularly at the tips. A claw that has thinned, bent outward, or broken entirely presents a genuine risk of stone loss. Routine inspection and re-tipping — the process of adding a small bead of metal to a worn claw tip — are standard maintenance procedures recommended at intervals of one to two years for rings worn daily. Stones with inclusions near the girdle, or those susceptible to cleavage along predictable planes, require careful placement of claws to avoid concentrating stress at a vulnerable point.

Historical Context

The claw setting in its modern form became dominant during the nineteenth century, as improvements in diamond cutting — particularly the development of the old mine cut and, later, the round brilliant — created demand for mounts that would display the stone's optical properties to best advantage. Earlier settings, such as the closed collet and the rub-over bezel, enclosed the pavilion entirely, limiting light return. The progressive opening of the setting through the Victorian and Edwardian periods, culminating in the fully open platinum claw mounts of the early twentieth century, reflected both aesthetic preference and advances in metalworking precision. Art Deco jewellers refined the claw to an almost architectural element, using geometric arrangements of pointed and split claws as design features in their own right.

In the Trade

Claw settings remain the most widely specified construction for diamond solitaire engagement rings worldwide, and are standard for transparent coloured stones of fine quality where the stone's optical character is the primary selling point. Gemmological laboratories, when issuing grading reports, note the setting type as context for colour and clarity assessments, since a claw-set stone can be examined from multiple angles without removal from the mount — a practical advantage during appraisal and authentication. When commissioning bespoke jewellery, the number, profile, and metal of the claws are among the first variables a skilled setter will discuss with the designer, as these choices affect both the security of the stone and the visual weight of the finished piece.

Further Reading

• GIA Gem Encyclopedia — Jewellery Settings Overview
• AGTA Consumer Gemstone Information