In this YouTube video, a UK‑based jeweler, optical diamond setter and GIA‑certified gemologist with over 20 years of experience reviews eight jewelry‑making tools he purchased but never used, explaining why each proved unsuitable for professional work and recommending more effective, often cheaper, alternatives. He begins by describing his careful purchasing approach and then walks through each regrettable tool: a GRS carbide pick (risk of marking or breaking stones; replace with a beading tool), a headband magnifier (causes dizziness and limits hand movement; replace with a microscope), a Dremel engraver (excessive vibration, poor line precision; recommends proper hand‑engraving practice without shortcuts), ring‑clamp tweezers (distorts rings and draws heat away; replace with reverse‑action tweezers or a third‑hand), a thickness‑measuring tool (only measures sheets, not wire diameters; replace with a digital caliper and optionally a brass caliper backup), an under‑powered micro motor (stops under load; replace with a purpose‑built jewelry micro motor), shellac (messy traditional media for holding pieces; replace with Thermal Lock), and a handheld clamp (requires one hand, limiting two‑handed work; replace with a ball vise). Throughout, he emphasizes ergonomics, precision, and cost‑effectiveness, urging viewers to avoid these wasteful purchases. The video ends with a call to like the video and a teaser for a future guide on essential hand‑engraving tools.
Chapters
Jewelry making and hand engraving tools are not cheap. Before making any purchase decision, it always takes me a very long time to compare and do my research, especially when two items are claimed to be for the same purpose but one is much more expensive than the other. The decision is not easy. In this video, I'm going to share with you 8 of the tools I regretted buying and the alternative ones which I have found to achieve a much better result. Hi, I am a jeweler, optical diamond setter, and a GIA graduate gemologist based in the UK. I've been making jewelry using real gemstones and precious metals since 2003. It has taken me over 20 years to get to this point. Let me share with you how I wasted my money buying these tools over the years so you don't need to. The first thing I regret having is this GRS carbide pick. The only reason I have it is it came with the other scriber which I really want.
This was the one that I was actually after.
This one came in the same package, so I am paying the price for for 2 scribers but really just want one. In the item description, it said this is for moving or adjusting stones, ideal for positioning stones when preparing for setting. But my concern is this is made of carbide, which means it's quite hard. So during the stone setting process, if you use this thing to touch the stone, it really depends on what stone it is. It is quite easy to leave a mark on the stone. And if the setting seat is cut precisely, the only thing you need is to press the stone down, which means it's really easy for breaking the stone if you use a carbide pick to push the stone downwards. So that's why I had this for 5 years now and it's still brand new. And also If you want to press the stone, you have other options, much cheaper ones.
Instead of using a carbide pick to push the stone down during the stone setting process, you can use a beading tool to do it, and the size of the beading tool you use depends on the size of the gemstone you are working on.
So this option is much cheaper and you will not risk leaving any mark on your stone or even breaking the stone. So still brand new after 5 years, never used. If you like this video, do you mind clicking the like button? Thank you. The second item I wish I didn't get is this headband magnifier. The reason I got it is when I really want to learn stone setting and hand engraving, this one is much cheaper option compared to a microscope. My problem with the headband magnifier is that after wearing it for about 5 minutes, I start to feel dizzy. And it is really common when I do stone setting or hand engraving jobs. It's very easy to sit there for about 2 to 3 hours, so I don't think I can do that with the headband magnifier. And also the distance between the lens and the object I am working is too narrow. This means I will not have enough space to move my hand around with the engraving tools or stone setting tools. In the end, I saved up and bought the microscope, which I was really happy with because I had no problem working on it for 3 to 5 hours without any eye strain. And also the distance between the microscope, and the object I'm working with, it's big enough for me to move my hand around with the tools I was holding for either stone setting or hand engraving. That is not a problem at all. So in my opinion, it is totally worth it to save up for the microscope, and my purchase on the headband magnifier, it's just totally waste of money. The next tool I have wasted my money on, it's the Dremel engraver. The reason I had it is first, it's much cheaper than other alternative options when I want to do hand engraving. Second, it requires no training at all to use, so it sounds like a shortcut to me. My problem with the Dremel engraver is this thing vibrates a lot, which means I cannot get accurate thin lines. And also, once this tool is on, I don't feel comfortable without wearing a very heavy-duty air defender. So my conclusion is, if you want to do the job properly, you really have to sit down and put on the hours to practice. There is no shortcuts. The next tool I have wasted my money on is is this ring clamp tweezers. This is designed for holding your ring when you want to solder anything onto it like this. But my problem is if I hold the ring like this and then heat it up, it is really likely that the pressure this ring clamp apply onto the ring will squeeze the ring. So before you solder it, your ring will be wrong, and after it's soldered, your ring will turn oval. And also another thing is because the top bit of this ring clamp is touching the ring, which means during the soldering process, this ring clamp will draw the heat away. This will take longer to heat up your ring and whatever you want to solder onto it. My solution is to use a normal pair of reverse action tweezers. First, the tweezers will only touch the ring for a tiny little bit, so it will not draw too much heat away during the soldering process. Second, you can always rest these tweezers onto anything which doesn't burn. In my case, I rest it on a spare crucible which I don't often use, but you need to make sure whatever you rest on it is heat resistant because it is so close to the torch, which means the fire. You don't want to burn it. So you can also use a third hand to hold your tweezers, so you don't need this thing at all. I had this for over 10 years. It's still brand new, untouched. Don't waste money. The next thing I have wasted the money on is this thickness measuring tool. I got this from my father. He bought it for me after he knew that I was about to learn jewelry making, so technically it's not my money, but it's still a waste. So my problem with this tool is I can use it to measure any silver, gold, or platinum sheet, but there is no use when I need to measure the diameter of a wire. So my solution is you can just use a digital caliper to do all this job. You can measure the thickness of any metal sheet and wire as well, also the inner diameter of a ring. So why waste your money to get another one? And also, if you want to have a backup in case your digital caliper breaks down, for example, the battery runs out or doesn't work anymore, you can always use a brass caliper instead of this thickness measuring tool. The next thing I wish I didn't buy is this micro motor. The only reason I bought it is because it's much cheaper compared to other brands which is specially designed for jewelry making. So my problem with this micro motor is once I put the drill bit in and press it down on silver, gold, or platinum, the motor stops because the power is not strong enough. I'm sure it's good for something, but it's not good for jewelry making. In the end, I chose one that is specially designed for jewelry making, which is a bit more expensive, but it does the job. I have listed the one that I use here in the description below in case you want to have a look. I have used that one for more than 15 years and there's no problem at all. And in the end, I bought another one, so I have two of them in my studio. The 7th tool I have wasted my money on is shellac. That is the traditional media to hold jewelry during the engraving or jewelry making process, but I found that one is too messy for me.
Personally, I prefer using Thermal Lock to hold any object during hand engraving or stone setting process because it's much quicker, more convenient, and tidier compared to the traditional way.
And I have a video here showing you how to use the Thermal Lock to hold a ring if you want to engrave on the inner wall of a ring or on the surface of a ring. The last tool I have wasted my money on is this handheld clamp.
My problem with this thing is if I need to use it for hand engraving or or stone setting, I need to hold this thing with one hand and then do hand engraving or stone setting with the other like this. But sometimes I need to use both hands to do hand engraving and stone setting, but with this thing I can't do it. After getting that thing, it didn't work very well, so I have to get a ball vise like this. It holds all the objects when I am doing hand engraving or stone setting without any problem. Obviously, this one is much more expensive, but it does the job right.
These are the 8 tools I have wasted my money on over the years. If you like this video, you might want to check out the one here. It's about all the tools you will need to start learning hand engraving properly. I will see you in the next video.
