Invisible and Mystery settings - post 277

Part 7 of a series on metal settings.

#7697  

Starting with simple pulled gold settings, we have progressed through the ages and technological advances until we reach the apotheosis of jewelry mounts: the invisible setting. 
Last week (post 121), we learned that channel settings are when (usually rectangular/square) stones are set together with no lateral boundaries. However, there is metal holding them in place in a continuous line above and below the gems. 
Channel settings are confined to a single row of stones, and the metal is clearly visible. 
Imagine setting more than one row of gemstones with no metal mount showing at all!!! 

During the 1930's, Van Cleef and Arpels, the famous French jewelry house, invented a sophisticated new system of setting gems, seemingly without any metal. This way, gems could be packed alongside one another with no mount obstructing the view, seemingly invisible. They called it a Mystery setting.  In a Mystery or Invisible setting, the gems appear to float with no metal holding them in place.

The Mystery was: how did they do it? How do you hold stones in place without enclosing them, even partially, in metal?

The answer is simple to understand when you are let into the secret:
This magical feat was accomplished in the 1930's by no less than Van Cleef and Arpels. VCA introduced a technique whereby 1) narrow metal ridges or rails were created in straight lines on the surface to be set with stones.  2) gems were cut with a groove on their underside. 3) The grooved underside was slid over the metal ridge. 4) Then, the same was done with the next stone, the sides of the neighboring gems perfectly matched and fit. 5) this was repeated across the entire surface needing to be gem set.  Neighboring gems helped hold individual stones in place.  
Remember, to work properly, 1) the groove and ridge had to be a perfect fit. 2)all sides of each gem had to fit perfectly with its neighbors. Clearly, a straight line would work best to meet these demands, which is why the stones of invisible settings are always square or rectangular in shape. 

For obvious reasons, the method of setting gems with no visible metal is known as an 'invisible setting'. VCA, who invented the system, called it a MYSTERY SETTING. This is their patented name for an invisible setting. Other companies created variations of the invisible setting, but the only company legally allowed to use the term 'Mystery', is VCA. 

#6130 (sold)  

The appearance of a flat surface invisibly set with stones, magically held in place by hidden forces, is awesome. Even more impressive is that this technique was often extended to produce round or curved jewels. This would involve a miniscule alteration in cut of each stone to accommodate the turning metal. The precision necessary for such jewelry is mind-boggling. 

Making jewelry, especially curving, twisting 3-dimentional pieces is extremely labor intensive. Each item may take many hundreds of hours to execute. 

A bit of gossip: 
Was Van Cleef & Arpels totally original?
It turns out that both Chaumet (1904) and Cartier (1932) created and patented similar systems, but never fully exploited them. Thus, it was Van Cleef who advertised their system widely who got all of the recognition for the system.
A while back I was lucky enough to participate in a small tour of the Oscar Heyman factory in New York.  I learned that all invisibly set Van Cleef & Arpels New York was actually made by Oscar Heyman until 2002 when the arrangement was discontinued.  

#5595 a ring made in the 1700's in Portugal. How did they do that? 

Questions and comments: Please email antiques@brendaginsberg.com
Find jewelry on www.brendaginsberg.com
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The full series of metal settings are in the following order:
151 introduction to metal settings
123 pulled gold 
148 collet
150 prongs
120 pave
121 channel
277 invisible 
149 gypsy /flush
278 others