Life in Rome & Learning Pavé Setting
Hello,
As I write this, Rome is slowly waking up from the cold. The days are getting warmer… but of course, Italians won’t take off their puffer jackets until at least July 1st.
My birthday is approaching, and over the last few months I’ve been fully immersed in learning traditional pavé settingusing the hand-push method — the old, precise, incredibly demanding way.
My journey at Gerardi Stone Setting School has been nothing short of transformative. My teachers and mentors, Sergio and Roberto, have opened my eyes to the true craftsmanship behind pavé. They are masters of their art, and they taught me one thing very quickly:
Pavé is hard. Extremely hard.
And that’s exactly why it is so breathtaking.
Pavé setting is one of the most beautiful and delicate styles in jewellery. It became prominent in 18th-century French jewellery, later perfected in both French and Italian ateliers. Both cultures are still known for their mastery — the tiny diamonds, the seamless sparkle, the craftsmanship that looks effortless but demands years of discipline.
And now, here I am in Roma, learning this centuries-old art with my own hands.
Every morning, I begin my day at Caffè Marina
Every morning, I begin my day at Caffè Marina — the most beautiful little café, filled with the warmest souls. I always order an iced latte, no sugar (caffè in ghiaccio).
But Diana, the sweet lady who works there, insists on adding sugar because she believes every day should start with “a little sweetness.”
And honestly… I’m not complaining...
Shaping the Gravers — The Heart of Pavé Work
Learning how to shape gravers has been a huge milestone in my pavé journey. These tiny tools are everything — every cut, every bead, every shimmer starts here.
I worked with two essential gravers:
· Onglette Graver for clean lines and bright cuts
· Flat Graver for levelling the metal and shaping the bead walls
Both had to be shaped and sharpened entirely by hand, which meant learning the grinder machine… terrifying at first.
And in Italy, safety is very much “you’ll be fine, and just count ur blessing ;)”
But the transformation was worth it —
Before and after: from blunt steel to perfectly sharpened tools ready for true pavé work.
Dividers
For practice, we had to learn how to use dividers — and honestly, dividers become your best friend in stone setting and goldsmithing. With these tiny tools, you measure the exact size of each stone, then use that measurement to mark its place on the metal.
Those little marks become the “stone beds,” the precise spots where each diamond will eventually sit.
And let me tell you… I didn’t do this once or twice.
I had to redo this over 200 times before I was allowed to progress to Stage 3 of pavé setting.
Repetition, precision, and patience — that’s the real foundation of pavé.
Stage 4 — Entering the Ball Bur Stage After Two Months of Pavé Bootcamp
Stage 4 is where everything becomes real. This is when I finally started using the ball bur — choosing the correct size to drill the first seat for each stone. The ball bur creates the opening, the little “home” the diamond will sit in.
After that, the gravers take over.
The onglette graver cuts and defines the lines, and the flat graver cleans and shapes the metal around each seat.
It’s precise, slow, and honestly… so satisfying.
This is the stage where you can finally see pavé starting to take form — tiny details becoming tiny diamonds.
My First Attempt at Pavé- Be gentle… this was my first attempt ;)
And then came the moment every student waits for — my first real attempt at pavé. After weeks of measuring, marking, drilling dots, shaping gravers, and practising the tiniest movements over and over again, I finally reached the point where I could create my very first pavé line.
It wasn’t perfect — of course not.
But seeing those first tiny cuts and those first little beads forming felt magical. It was the moment the metal finally started responding to me, the moment I thought, “Okay… I’m actually doing this.”
Looking back now, it’s rough, uneven, and full of lessons… but it’s also the moment everything changed. My first attempt — the true beginning of my pavé story.
This stage also took many, many €1 caffè breaks — the kind where you escape just to rest your eyes after staring into a microscope for too long. And I’ll be honest… there were definitely a few sneaky lunchtime vinos in the mix too.
And yes… the stones had to be green — obviously.
A little emerald energy never hurt anyone.
Because when you’re in Rome learning an art this intense, sometimes you need caffeine, sometimes you need courage — and sometimes, you need both.
Love, Maria Mahima x