Is a bezel setting more expensive?

A bezel has to fit the stone exactly the first time the metal is folded over the edge, because once the rim is closed there is no easy way to back out and reseat. The jeweller measures the diamond, cuts the rim to length, solders it to the base, drops in the stone and works the metal down with a burnisher in small steps under magnification. Prong setting by comparison is forgiving: a misaligned prong can be repositioned before the bead is closed. That fit-first-time requirement is most of the price difference, not the few extra grams of metal.

A round brilliant bezel can use a standard cast rim that the jeweller adjusts to fit, which keeps the labour cost close to a six-prong head. Oval and emerald cuts need a semi-custom rim because the curves are not standard, and the price climbs roughly 20 to 40 percent. Pear, marquise and princess cuts almost always need a fully custom bezel hand-formed to each contour and corner, which can double the setting cost over a prong head. If you are choosing bezel mainly for cost reasons, a round or oval centre keeps the gap smallest.