Pave (pavé) diamonds are a form of diamond setting almost the precise opposite of the solitaire diamond. Whilst the solitaire setting relies on one single diamond displayed at its best, pave uses a sparkling “wall” of stones.
What Are Pave Diamonds?
A pave setting consists of a large number of small diamonds set very close together to completely cover the metal on which they are mounted. The technique can be used on any piece of jewelry however it seems especially popular on engagement rings (bands) and pendants. The name comes from the French word for an old cobbled pavement.
As you can imagine, setting all those tiny diamonds so close to each other requires considerable work. For this reason pave jewelry often costs more than you would expect from just looking at the total carat weight of the stones involved. It also needs to be treated with care to prevent diamonds from being knocked out and leaving a nasty hole.
Micro Pave
Taking the pave concept even further is the micro pave setting. This is the same idea as the pave setting however the stones used are smaller still, creating a finer, sheerer layer of diamonds. Setting micro pave jewelry requires even more skill and time than ordinary pave.