Pavé setting
A setting where many small stones are set close together and held by tiny beads or prongs, covering the metal surface.
How pavé is built
The setter drills a seat for each small stone, often called melee, then raises beads of metal over the edges to hold the stones. Pavé appears on bands, halos, shoulders, pendants and earrings, wherever a designer wants a continuous field of sparkle.
Pavé versus micro pavé
Micro pavé uses even smaller stones and is set under magnification. Classic pavé stones are larger and the beads are easier to see.
Preparing pavé for rendering
Pavé is the main reason jewelry files get heavy. A band with 60 stones and their beads can contain more polygons than the rest of the ring. Keep each stone as a simple, clean faceted mesh and avoid exporting stones at very high density, because their facets are flat anyway. See polygon count for practical targets.
Put the small stones on their own layer and name it clearly. In RenderMyJewels, layers or meshes with names such as Pavé, Diamond, Gem or Stone are treated as stones automatically, so they open in the studio with a gem material instead of metal. If a part is still read as metal, switch its type to Gem in the Layers tab.
Getting the sparkle right
Pavé sparkles because hundreds of small facets catch light at different angles. Movement shows this best, so a slow 360° video usually sells pavé better than a single still. A gentle bloom helps pinpoint highlights read on screen, while too much bloom turns the field of stones into a haze.