Secret Shop Weapons

Cady Carlson Dill’s versatile prong-closing pliers

(Originally Published by MJSA October 2024)

We asked custom jeweler Cady Carlson Dill, “If you were stranded on an island (that just happened to have a bench and some metal lying around), what tool would you want to have that allows you to do things you can’t do with any other tool?”

What is your favorite tool?

Like many jewelers, I cannot choose a favorite tool, but the one I pick up the most is a pair of prong-closing pliers I purchased from Stuller some years ago.

What makes it special?

I love the angles I can reach with these.

How do you use it in your work?

I use them for every type of prong setting.

What discoveries or breakthroughs have you made with it?

I’ve been able to cut down on the number of different tools I’d normally use to get everything sitting just right. While it’s not what they’ve been designed for, I’ve found that resting the longer arm against the length of a prong and then using the shortened, bent arm to close an opposing prong tip works really well and helps prevent the stone from slipping out of center.

Of course, just using this tool traditionally with the short arm on top and the long arm squeezing from say, a ring shank, is pretty fabulous. Sometimes, I’ll even use it to snap a diamond into its setting when I worry that pulling a prong back will upset some careful tension.

Ring by Cady Carlson Designs

I think what I’ve found I like best is using them for bead settings. There are some bead-setting pliers out there, but I’ve been unimpressed with their quality. In addition, I’ve found that using a beading tool with the mushroom grip takes a toll on my wrists when I have a lot of gems to set, so I use the prong-closing pliers instead. Although they flatten the beads a little, it’s nothing that can’t be easily rounded out with a beading tool. Plus, the prong-closing pliers do not strain my wrist when I use them for extended periods of time.