Rubover Setting — The British Term for the Bezel
Rubover Setting — The British Term for the Bezel
A continuous metal collar burnished over the girdle of the stone
A rubover setting is a continuous metal rim or collar that surrounds the gemstone and is pressed and burnished over the stone's girdle to secure it in place. The British term rubover describes the setter's action: the metal is rubbed down over the stone's edge using a burnisher, locking the stone against the seat cut into the inside of the collar. In American usage the same setting is simply called a bezel, and the two terms are interchangeable in international trade contexts.
Construction
The setting begins as a metal tube or upstanding wall built up around the seat. The setter cuts a small ledge inside the wall to support the stone's girdle, drops the stone into position, and uses a burnisher to roll the metal over the stone's edge in small, even movements. The objective is a clean, continuous line where the metal meets the stone, with no visible gaps or bumps and no over-stress on the stone's edges. A well-finished rubover setting reads as a single tight band of metal embracing the stone.
Half-rubover (or partial-bezel) variants leave openings at the sides or ends of the setting, exposing the stone's girdle where the metal does not run continuously. These hybrids retain the rubover security of the front and back while admitting more side light to the stone.
Why use a rubover
The rubover offers several advantages: it protects the stone's girdle from chipping, presents a clean and contemporary line, and is suitable for daily-wear ring use including sports and active lifestyles. It is the setting of choice for softer stones such as opal, moonstone, and turquoise, and for stones with girdle-edge inclusions that should not be exposed under prongs. The technique is described in standard British jewellery-making texts including the Goldsmith's Manual.
The trade-off is that the setting covers more of the stone than a prong setting and admits less light to the pavilion. For diamonds and bright transparent gemstones where maximum brilliance is the priority, prong settings are often preferred; for coloured-stone designs where security and clean lines matter more than absolute brilliance, the rubover is the workhorse choice.