Abezel is a wider and usually thicker section of the hoop of aring, which may contain agem or a flat surface (usually with an engraved design, as in asignet ring).[1] Rings are normally worn to display bezels on the upper or outer side of the finger. Ingem-cutting the termbezel is used for those sloping facets (also called sides or faces) of a cut stone that surround the flattable face,[2] which is the large, horizontal facet on the top.[3]
More broadly, bezels are found on tools and appliances. The sloping face of achisel is known as a bezel.[2] In vehicles, it is the part of the bodywork that surrounds a headlight or turn signal.[4] On a cell phone or tablet, it is the back surface that frames the LCD screen.[5]
The word may also refer to abezel setting for a stone, which is a general term for asetting holding the stone in place with a raised metal rim for the stone, the rim's lip encircling and overlapping the edges of the stone, thus holding it in place.[6] Modern bezel settings typically use a band of metal containing a groove and a flange (i.e. projecting lip) to hold awatch crystal or gemstone in its setting. This was the earliest method of setting gemstones intojewelry. In historic examples, such rings were often made by leaving a hole or slot in the ring with a thin lip which was bent over once the stone was inserted, holding it in place.
Other types of bezel settings, less used in modern jewelry, areswivel bezels where the bezel, perhaps just formed of a stone with a metal rod through it, can rotate, andbox bezels, where a "box" or cage forms the bezel, often sitting on the main ring hoop, and perhaps open at the top where there is a stone.[7]
The wordbezel, with an earliest attribution from 1605 to 1615,[4] derives from the Old French*besel (13c.; Modern Frenchbiseau), cognate with Spanish and Portuguesebisel; of uncertain origin, perhaps literally "a stone with two angles," from Vulgar Latin *bis-alus, frombis- "twice" (from PIE root *dwo- "two") +ala "wing, side" (seealar).[8] Bezel is akin to Frenchbiseau, meaningbevel orchamfer.[4]
The noun meaning "slope of the edge of a cutting tool," and also "groove by which a stone is held in its setting" was from the 1610s. The verb meaning "grind (a tool) down to an edge" is from 1670s.[8]
The noun meaning "oblique face of a gem" is from c. 1840.[8]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In making a typical modern bezel setting, the bezel is shaped into the size and shape of the gem and thensoldered into place on the metal of the jewelry. The prepared stone is then placed into the bezel and the metal is pressed down over the edges of stone, locking it into place.
Acabochon stone, a gemstone that is not faceted, usually relies on the shallowangle cut into the side of the stone, which helps the metal to stay in place. With a clear,faceted stone, such as a diamond, a shallow groove is cut into the bezel itself. The girdle, or widest part of the gemstone, is placed in the bezel, which is then pushed down over the girdle. The pressure of the bezel over the edge keeps the stone in place.
Bezel settings for diamonds are also calledrub-over settings; they have a diamond completely surrounded by a precious metal band which fastens the diamond securely into place. Bezel settings use a type of elevated collar which wraps the rim of the diamond in a complete metal edging. This type of diamond ring setting is the most secure fastener for the stones. The bezel setting also protects the diamond better than other types of settings, such as theprong setting. A flush setting for diamond rings is a variation on the rub-over or bezel setting. In the flush setting, the stone is placed into an opening and affixed at the bottom of the stone. The top of the diamond is extended above the base.
One advantage of the bezel setting, as compared to theprong setting, is that the diamond is better protected from accidental rubbing or blows, and is less likely to allow the diamond to scratch whatever it may come into contact with. The bezel setting is also more secure, so the diamond is less likely to be dislodged.
An extension of the termbezel setting can refer to a rotatable rim on a clock or watch used to indicate certain data such as elapsed time.[9][10]
Gemmological classifications by E. Ya. Kievlenko (1980), updated | |||||||||
| Jewelry stones |
| ||||||||
| Jewelry-Industrial stones |
| ||||||||
| Industrial stones | |||||||||
| Related | |||||||||
