Setting for small stones in my jewellery classes in Great Missenden

As part of exploring basket (or prong, or claw) setting, I showed one of my jewellery classes how to make this small basket setting, which is well suited to small stone around the 3-6mm range. You can find a full tutorial on this blog, which explains it very well: http://fluxplay.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/make-your-own-claw-setting.html 
I made two samples - a 4mm cz with the basket made from 0.5mm wire and a 6mm rose quartz with the basket made from 0.8mm wire. The one my student made was 5mm with 0.8mm wire - and it looks great! It's the one with the bail, my two samples are either side of it in the two lower photos.

(Please ignore the terrible state of my fingernails, that's a result of filing and sanding all the time!)