The most famous jewelers in the world use pave settings.
What exactly is a pave setting?
The term pavé is French and means “to pave”. As a driveway is paved with cement, jewelry can paved with diamonds or any other precious or semi precious stones.
The benefit and beauty of the pave technique is that the diamonds are so closely set that all you can see is the sparkle of the stones. It’s difficult to see where one stone starts and another stops.
The metal, whether it be Yellow gold, White gold, or Rose gold, is severely minimized when the pave technique is used. When white gold is used, the pave of diamonds is even more enhanced as the white gold blends in so well with white diamonds. If Yellow diamonds were being used, then Yellow gold would be most suitable. With a loop, or a good eye, the only metal visible are the tiny metal bumps or prongs holding each of the stones in place.
In preparation of the setting of the stones, the jeweler typically drills holes into the ring and places the stones into the holes. He then forms tiny bumps of beads, to be used as prongs, to secure each stone into place.
In the case of especially small stones, this technique can be called a micro-pavé setting. Diamonds smaller than .02 carats are typically categorized as micro-pavé.
This technique can also known as a bead setting.
The most famous jewelers use the pave setting technique. Cartier, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany, David Webb, and Nativity Rings.