How to Make a Copper Bezel-Set Pendant (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

How to Make a Copper Bezel-Set Pendant (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

In this project, I’ll walk you through how to make a bezel-set pendant using copper sheet, copper wire, and a cabochon stone. We’ll cover everything from choosing your materials and sizing the bezel, to soldering, setting the stone, and finishing with patina and polish.

All of the tools and materials I use are linked below, and you can use code BEZEL for 15% off select tools at GomeowCreations.com.

 

What We’re Making

We’re building a simple, classic bezel-set pendant:

  • A flat backing plate in copper
  • A thin bezel wall that wraps tightly around an oval cabochon (I used an amethyst)
  • A bail at the top made from copper, so you can hang it from a chain

Even though I’m using an oval amethyst, you can use almost any stone shape as long as it has a flat back.

Materials & Basic Specs

You can adapt the measurements to your own stone, but here’s what I used:

  • Stone: Oval amethyst cabochon, flat-backed
  • Backing plate: Copper sheet, about 0.6 mm thick (I recommend this as a minimum)
  • Bezel strip: Copper sheet around 0.2–0.3 mm thick
  • Wire for jump rings/bail: Copper wire, about 1.6 mm thick, 7–8" (18–20 cm) long

Tip: Thicker backing plates are fine, but remember: more metal = more heat required for soldering.

Step 1: Plan Your Design & Bezel Height

Before you touch the torch, sketch a simple design:

  • Trace your stone into a notebook
  • Sketch the bezel and backing plate size
  • Decide where the bail will go

How tall should the bezel be?

If you look at a cross-section of the stone, you want the bezel just high enough to come up over the curved part of the stone so it can hold it securely without covering too much.

  • Use calipers to measure from the base of the stone up to where it starts to curve back in.
  • For my stone, about 2 mm bezel height worked well.

You can use:

  • Digital Vernier Calipers – to measure and scratch a line into the metal
  • Adjustable dividers – to mark a consistent bezel height

Step 2: Cut and Anneal the Bezel Strip

Once you’ve marked your strip height on the thin copper sheet:

  1. Cut the strip
    For thin metal like 0.2–0.3 mm, metal shears are quick and effective. Try to cut as straight as you can, but a small wobble is okay – we’ll clean it up later.
  2. Anneal the strip
    Place it on a charcoal block or soldering surface. Use a butane torch to heat it evenly until you see a dull red glow. Flip it to heat both sides, but don’t overheat and melt it.
  3. Pickle & clean
    Drop the piece into a warm pickling solution in a crock pot for about 10 minutes. Use copper tongs only – never steel in the pickle, or you’ll cause a reaction. Rinse in clean water and wipe off loose copper particles.

Step 3: Size the Bezel to the Stone

We want a bezel that fits snugly around the stone perimeter.

Quick tape sizing trick

  1. Cut a thin strip of tape roughly matching your bezel height.
  2. Wrap it around the stone so it overlaps slightly.
  3. Cut the overlap with a sharp blade (careful with softer stones).
  4. Remove the tape, stick it to your bezel strip, and use it as a guide.
  5. Cut the strip about 1 mm longer than the tape to give yourself a little extra for fine-tuning.

Now shape the strip around the stone with your fingers or pliers and mark where it overlaps. You want it as tight as possible.

Step 4: Square the Ends & Solder the Bezel Seam

For a clean solder seam, both ends of the strip need to be flat and match up.

  • Use a miter block / miter vise to clamp the strip.
  • File the ends flat against the guide surface.

Reshape the strip around your stone and align the ends. Don’t worry if the top edges don’t perfectly match—focus on the bottom edge lining up.

Soldering the seam

  1. Place a small chip of hard silver solder on the charcoal block.
  2. Position the bezel right over the solder where the seam is.
  3. Apply flux to the area.
  4. Heat evenly with your torch, then focus on the seam until the solder flows up into the joint.

Pickle, rinse, and test the fit on your stone again. Reshape around the stone as needed; the bezel should fit snugly.

Step 5: Solder the Bezel to the Backing Plate

  1. Place your backing plate on a tripod with mesh so you can heat from below.
  2. Flux the entire area where the bezel will sit.
  3. Set the bezel onto the backing plate while the flux is still wet.
  4. Gently preheat to dry the flux and lock everything in place.

Since we already used hard solder on the seam, now we step down to medium silver solder so we don’t reflow that first joint.

  1. Place medium solder chips on the inside edge of the bezel, all the way around.
  2. Heat from underneath until the piece starts to darken, then move the flame on top.
  3. Watch for the solder to flow under the bezel.

Pickle, rinse, and check for gaps. You can hold the piece up to the light or use a flashlight from behind. If you see a gap, re-flux that area, place another small chip of solder, and reheat and reflow just that section.

Step 6: Test Fit the Stone & Trim the Backing

Before we commit to the final shape, test the fit:

  • Put some dental floss or thread under the stone before placing it in the bezel so you can pull it back out if it gets stuck.
  • Check that the stone drops in snugly without rocking.

Now, mark around the outside of your bezel on the backing plate, leaving a small ledge.

Rough cut & cleanup

  1. Saw out the pendant shape with a jeweler’s saw (don’t worry about perfection here).
  2. Use hand files to refine the shape, smooth the edges, and remove saw marks.

Step 7: Level the Bezel Top

If the top of your bezel isn’t even (and it usually isn’t), we’ll flatten it safely:

  1. Tape wet/dry sandpaper to a flat surface.
  2. Add a bit of water to prevent clogging.
  3. Gently sand the bezel face-down with very light pressure.
  4. Rotate the piece or use a figure-8 motion to avoid low spots.

Check often—you’ll see the high spots disappear and the bezel level out.

Note: Avoid using a file on the bezel top unless you’re very comfortable. If it catches, it can fold the bezel inward and ruin your work.

Step 8: Clean Up Solder & Surface

Because we’re using copper with silver solder, the solder lines will show as lighter areas. You can:

  • Use a rotary tool with small polishing wheels to selectively clean up solder areas.
  • Gently smooth inside the bezel as well so nothing pushes the stone up unevenly.

Don’t over-polish at this stage; any high shine will be lost during the next round of soldering.

Step 9: Make Jump Rings & a Support Pad

We’re going to make jump rings from 1.6 mm copper wire and then convert one into a sort of “ramp” that blends into the backing plate.

  1. Anneal the wire and pickle it.
  2. Wrap it tightly around a 5 mm drill bit (or similar) to form a coil.
  3. Cut off the ends with flush cutters.
  4. Use a jeweler’s saw (with lubricant and finger guards) to cut the coil into individual jump rings.

Close two jump rings with pliers. One will be used as a support while you shape and fit the other to the curvature of your pendant, then file a little ramp so it transitions to the backing plate thickness cleanly.

Use a ring clamp to hold the part while filing the angle.

Step 10: Solder on the Jump Ring Base

  1. Position the ramped jump ring against the top of your pendant.
  2. Flux the area and preheat to dry the flux.
  3. Place small pieces of solder (with a little dab of flux) at the joint.
  4. Heat the larger piece first: solder likes to flow toward the hottest area.
  5. Once everything is up to temperature, the solder should melt and connect the pieces.

Pickle, rinse, and clean up any extra solder like you did earlier.

This is where tools like a center finder come in handy to ensure your bail is aligned. You can use dedicated templates and center finders for more accuracy (linked below).

Step 11: Make and Add a Bail

You can:

  • Use a simple jump ring as the bail, or
  • Make a more decorative bail from scrap backing plate using a bail template.

Making a custom bail

  1. Trace your bail shape on a small piece of scrap sheet using a scribe or fine-tip marker.
  2. Saw it out and file the edges clean.
  3. Bend it around a drill bit (around 4 mm works well) to form the bail shape.
  4. Check symmetry and adjust with pliers until the two ends meet nicely.

Open it slightly, thread it through the small soldered-on support ring, then close it again.

Use a third-hand or reverse tweezers to hold the bail so the solder joint is as far from the main pendant as possible. Flux, place solder, and heat until the bail closes and solders shut. Then pickle and rinse once more.

Step 12: Secure the Stone with a Bezel Setting Tool

Now we finally set the stone.

Helpful holding trick: thermal plastic

Bezel setting is much easier if the piece is stable:

  1. Soften moldable thermal plastic pellets in hot water.
  2. Form a lump, let it cool, then briefly reheat the top and press your pendant into it.
  3. Let it cool fully so the pendant is held securely.

Pushing the bezel over

Use bezel-setting tools such as:

  • Stainless steel burnishers
  • Brass pushers
  • Non-marring plastic tools
  • Even a wooden dowel in a pinch
  1. Remove the floss/thread from behind the stone once you’re happy with the fit.
  2. Start by pushing the bezel down at four opposing points (like a cross or “X” pattern).
  3. Then work around the stone, pushing the bezel in and slightly down toward the stone.
  4. Switch to a steel tool to burnish the bezel—this smooths out bumps and gives a cleaner shine.

The stone should not move at all when you’re finished.

To remove the piece from the thermal plastic, use hot water or a heat gun on low (not a torch—too risky for the stone).

Step 13: Patina & Finish

I chose to give the copper a dark, weathered patina with some highlights.

Patina with liver of sulfur

  1. Mix liver of sulfur with hot water.
  2. Submerge the pendant for about 10 minutes.
  3. Rinse thoroughly in clean water.

This will turn the copper black. It also works on silver, but be careful with porous stones (like opal), which can become cloudy or damaged.

Polish & highlight

You can polish with:

  • Bench polishing motor + buff + compound
  • Rotary tool with small buffs
  • Or polishing cloths infused with compound

If you don’t want the mess of a big polishing setup, polishing cloths are a great low-maintenance option. They’ll brighten high spots and leave patina in the recesses for a nice weathered look.

Warning: Rotary and bench buffers can grab your piece and launch it. If your stone hits a concrete floor, it can crack, and there’s usually no way to fix that. The setting will likely still hold, but be careful.

Finish with a quick scrub in hot soapy water and a toothbrush to remove any leftover compound. Add a chain and your pendant is ready to wear.

Tools & Materials Used in This Project

Use code BEZEL for 15% off at GomeowCreations.com on select tools.

Bail Template & Center Finder

Bezel Setting Tools

Materials: Sheet Metal & Wire

Bench Pins

Thermal Plastic

Measuring Tools & Dividers

Wire / Flush Cutters & Metal Shears

Polishing Compound & Cloth

Bench Polishing Tools

Rotary Flex Shaft Motor & Handpiece

Finger Guards

Pickling Compound & Pickle Pot

Rotary Tool Wheels & Ring Clamp

Flux

Miter Cutting Vise Jig

Solder

Jeweler's Saw Frames & Blades

Metal Files

Solder Block / Surface

Tweezers

Pliers

Torch Options

Final Thoughts

This project is intentionally simple in design, but it teaches you:

  • How to size and form a bezel
  • How to solder seams and attach bezels to back plates
  • How to create and solder a bail
  • How to set a stone securely in a bezel
  • How to apply patina and give your piece a finished look

Once you’re comfortable with this basic pendant, you can start experimenting with more complex shapes, decorative saw piercing, layered designs, mixed metals, and different stones.

And if you’re interested in any of the tools on my website, don’t forget to use code BEZEL at checkout on GomeowCreations.com to save 15% off your order.

For more in-depth jewelry-making videos and tutorials, check out the other content on my channel—I’ll have another project up for you to watch next. Thanks again for reading and happy making!

Note: Most of the product links I share are affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. It’s a simple way to support the work I do on this channel and helps me keep creating new tutorials and resources. Thank you for your support!

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