Alternative Stone Setting: Tapered Tube and Crown Setting with Jennifer Stenhouse, Jan 24, 2026

Saturday, January 24, 2026  
10:00 am - 2:00 pm, PST

Instructor: Jennifer Stenhouse 

Tapered Tube settings, flared tube settings, and crown settings are a beautiful way to show a stone and add elegance to your designs. This stone setting workshop will focus on the techniques used to create tapered tube settings and shaping tubes to create unique stone settings for jewelry. Students will learn the techniques through demonstrations using tubing to create altered tube settings, creating flared, and simple prong settings. Stone setting will work for a variety of stones, such as faceted round, faceted square, rose-cut, and round cabochon stones. 

Demos will also include how to measure, cut, and set tube settings. Students will learn to use manufactured seamless tubes as a starting point for all kinds of projects. Options such as tapered & crown prong settings will be discussed. Students may work alongside the demos or choose just to observe and learn. Students will have at least 60-day access to the class video after the class to watch at their leisure.

The settings discussed include: Tapered tube setting, using a tapered tube to create a fancy prong setting.

Recommended skills: Students should have beginning jewelry skills, including sawing, filing, soldering, and some experience with bezel setting.

Skill Level: All Levels

All classes include the video recording, which you will have access to for 60 days after the class. The Zoom link, handouts, video(s), and other important information can be found by clicking on the individual class link on the "My Courses" page. The Zoom link and handout (if any) will be available 24 hours before the class starts.

You also get 1 free session of Open Studio Access (OSA) in the month following your class. The Zoom link can be found on the course video access page.

The class supply list is below and contains links to buy the supplies you need.

Supply List for Students

Use the links below to purchase any supplies you don't already have for your class. This site may contain Amazon and other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, at no cost to you, we may receive a small commission on qualifying purchases.

Recommendation Materials:

• Sterling and brass tubes, and faceted stones (or CZs) will be used for the tube setting demonstration.
• Faceted stones should be the same size to half a millimeter smaller than the tube for the flared tube setting purposes. (Ex: stone is 3.25-3.5mm, regular wall seamless tube should be 3.66mm.)
• Sterling silver seamless tubing, 3.66mm OD:
• 3.5mm CZ

Also helpful to have:

• Silver solder wire (approx. 3” each is helpful)
• Flux
• 20g sterling sheet (copper or brass sheet may also be used for your samples)

Supplies from the hardware store:

• Brass tubing same size as your stone. Anneal before use.
• 2-pound brass head mallet (this is great for all kinds of shaping and stamping!)
• Safety glasses
• Emery paper
• Wet/dry emery paper, 200/400/600

Tools used for the demonstration:

These tools are available from Rio Grande and other suppliers, local and online, for your convenience. But, if you have your own tools or want to add to your kit, this is what I will be using:

• Multi-opening tapered bezel punch, different shapes are available. I will be demonstrating a Round Bezel forming block with a punch. 17° Taper round punch and die set.
• Economy miter-cutting vise and jig

Basic Jewelry Kit essentials:

• General-purpose jewelry pliers
• Beeswax or Bur Life
• Jeweler saw
• 4/0 blades
• Center punch/scribe
• Bezel mandrel set
• Forming pliers
• Bench pin
• Needle files
• 6” half-round file
• Small tweezers
• Burnisher
• Flush wire cutters
• Magnifiers of your choice