Pavé Jewellery

Pavé, wherever it appears, is a maintenance decision as much as a style one

Pavé — French for paved — means diamonds set close enough together that the surface looks continuous rather than a series of individual stones. It shows up across rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets in this collection, and the same practical rules apply wherever it sits: more sparkle than any other setting technique, and more places for everyday grime to collect than a plain piece.

If you already know which piece you want, go straight to pavé engagement rings, earrings, or necklaces. This page covers the technique across everything we make.

Where you'll find it

• Rings — pavé engagement rings, where the band itself carries the diamonds rather than just the centre setting. Note: a full pavé band has limited resize room — covered in detail on that page.
• Earrings — our largest pavé category by product count: bar drops, discs, hoops and illusion-set studs, many using a pavé edge to frame a small centre stone.
• Necklaces — pavé disc and cluster pendants, where the technique creates a small, dense area of sparkle rather than a single point of light.
• Bracelets — pavé-framed centre stones on a fixed chain, in our gemstone and charm range.

Judging pavé quality by eye

This is one of the few settings you can assess without any equipment. Look at the line of stones directly from above: in good work, the diamonds sit at a uniform height with even gaps and neat, consistent beads holding them. In poor work, stones sit at different levels and the metal shows unevenly between them. This holds true whether you are looking at a ring band, an earring, or a pendant — the workmanship shows the same way in every category.

Living with pavé

Clean more often than a plain piece — soap and everyday grime collect between closely-set stones faster than on an open setting. Warm water, a drop of washing-up liquid and a soft toothbrush once a fortnight, and an annual check of the settings, applies equally to a pavé ring, earring, or pendant.

Common questions

How is pavé pronounced?

Pav-ay. French for paved, describing a surface covered so densely with stones that little metal shows between them.

Can pavé rings be resized like other rings?

Only partially, and this is specific to rings rather than earrings or necklaces — a full pavé band has no plain metal to work with. Details are covered on our pavé engagement rings page.

Do pavé stones fall out?

They can if a bead is damaged or poorly set. Annual checking prevents nearly all of it, in a ring, earring or pendant alike.