Bezel (jewellery)

Not to be confused with Bezel (disambiguation), Bevel, or Bezant.
Signet ring with engraved bezel
Ring with an engraved gem in a bezel setting

A bezel is a wider and usually thicker section of the hoop of a ring, which may contain a gem or a flat surface (usually with an engraved design, as in a signet ring).[1] Rings are normally worn to display bezels on the upper or outer side of the finger. In gem-cutting the term bezel is used for those sloping facets (also called sides or faces) of a cut stone that surround the flat table face,[2] which is the large, horizontal facet on the top.[3]

More broadly, bezels are found on tools and appliances. The sloping face of a chisel is known as a bezel.[2] In vehicles, it is the part of the bodywork that surrounds a headlight or turn signal.[4] On a cell phone or tablet, it is the back surface that frames the LCD screen.[5]

The word may also refer to a bezel setting for a stone, which is a general term for a setting holding the stone in place with a raised metal rim for the stone, the rim's lip encircling and overlapping the edges of the stone, thus holding it in place.[6] Modern bezel settings typically use a band of metal containing a groove and a flange (i.e. projecting lip) to hold a watch crystal or gemstone in its setting. This was the earliest method of setting gemstones into jewelry. In historic examples, such rings were often made by leaving a hole or slot in the ring with a thin lip which was bent over once the stone was inserted, holding it in place.

Other types of bezel settings, less used in modern jewelry, are swivel bezels where the bezel, perhaps just formed of a stone with a metal rod through it, can rotate, and box bezels, where a "box" or cage forms the bezel, often sitting on the main ring hoop, and perhaps open at the top where there is a stone.[7]

  1. ^ McConnell, 104.
  2. ^ a b OED, "Bezel" noun, 1 and 2; "In lapidary usage, the oblique sides or faces of a cut gem", Campbell.
  3. ^ "Gemstone Facets: Terminology and Functions". International Gem Society. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Definition of bezel | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC. 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  5. ^ Strange, Adario (July 11, 2013). "LG intros world's thinnest smartphone screen" Archived 2013-08-12 at the Wayback Machine. DVICE.
  6. ^ "A bezel setting is a metal rim that holds the gem in a finger ring. The term is used in a transferred sense by horologists to denote the ring that secures the glass in a watch or clock, and by metal specialists to describe the ring inside the lid of silver and pewter objects", Campbell.
  7. ^ Examples in the British Museum, with descriptions: Gold ring with movable circular box-bezel decorated with a griffin Archived 2015-10-18 at the Wayback Machine (also swivels); box bezel, no stone Archived 2018-11-19 at the Wayback Machine; The "Ashburnham Ring", with swivel bezel Archived 2018-11-19 at the Wayback Machine.