The World's Premier Microsetting Programme
Learn elite-level microsetting techniques from a world-class expert trusted by Graff Diamonds and over 200 successful students.
The Hard Truth
Not because they lack talent. Because they never got the right system.
Microsetting is one of the most sought-after, highest-paid skills in the entire industry. Jewellers who master it work on the pieces other setters can't touch — and charge accordingly.
The problem? There's no clear path. No curriculum. No one in your town who can teach it properly.
Until now.
Sound Familiar?
If you're an aspiring microsetter or jeweller, you know the frustration:
Every month you spend at the same skill level is another month of underpriced work. Another month of saying no to high-end jobs. Another month of someone else getting the commissions you should be doing.
Introducing
A structured, professional training programme that takes you from wherever you are now — to the level of setter that gets the best work, charges the highest prices, and earns the most respect in the room.
Step-by-step curriculum built from years of elite bench experience. No filler. Just the techniques that actually work at the highest level.
Castle, fishtail, pavé, prong, channel, bezel — each covered in dedicated modules with extreme close-up, multi-camera footage.
Access the academy from any device. Watch. Practice. Rewatch. There are no schedules, no deadlines. Progress entirely on your terms.
What You Get
This isn't a single course. It's a complete professional development system — every setting style, all in one place.
Ian walks you through exactly how the academy works and how to get the most from it — setting you up with the right approach before you pick up a single graver.
The foundation most jewellers skip — and the reason their work stays amateur. Covers every tool you'll use, how to set it up correctly, and graver sharpening in precise, repeatable detail.
The foundational micro setting style, taught from the ground up. Castle setting appears throughout high-end jewellery, and Ian covers the real-world variables you'll face on actual client pieces — not just practice stock.
One of the most demanding and visually striking setting styles. Ian teaches the full technique and how to apply it across real production conditions — non-standard pieces, uncalibrated stones, and the variables no in-person class has time to cover.
The setting style synonymous with luxury. This module includes a complete hand engraving section to build the graver skills needed for pavé work, followed by several different pavé layouts and applications — single row, double row, circular patterns, and graduating curves.
The workhorse of fine jewellery, done properly. Ian covers multiple stone shapes and a range of prong finishes — balled-up beads, talons, and small rectangular claws for stones like emerald cuts and Asschers. Skills that cross directly into micro setting work every day at the bench.
Clean, precise, and unforgiving of inconsistency. Ian teaches the systematic approach that makes channel setting achievable and repeatable on even complex pieces.
Often overlooked in setting education — covered in full here. Ian demonstrates bezel setting across many different stone shapes, opening up an entirely different category of work that complements every other style in the curriculum.
A dedicated video module addressing the most common problems and mistakes Ian sees across all setting styles. The answers to the questions you'll inevitably run into — before they cost you time and stones.
Reference guides, tool lists, and practical materials to use alongside the video content — at the bench, when you need them.
A full year to work through the curriculum entirely at your own pace. Revisit modules as your skills develop and return to specific content as you take on increasingly complex commissions.
The Shift
Why Online Wins
Here's the reality of an in-person setting class: a huge portion of the time is spent in silence — students practicing while the instructor waits. That's how it has to work. You can't teach while someone's hands are moving.
In a typical class, a complex setting style like fishtail might be broken into three short windows of actual instruction — around 15 minutes each. The rest is practice time. Which is valuable, but it means you leave with perhaps 45 minutes of real teaching on the technique.
Ian's fishtail module alone is over 2.5 hours of continuous, uninterrupted teaching.
Online, Ian never has to stop talking. While you pause and practice, every word is there waiting when you resume — 100% of the teaching, intact. That means not just the technique, but the context: what happens when a stone isn't calibrated, how to adapt to irregular pieces, what to watch for when things go wrong on a real production job.
The kind of knowledge that takes years to accumulate at the bench — delivered in full, in every module.
Simple Process
Three steps. No fluff. Just skill, built systematically.
Join the academy and immediately unlock the full curriculum. Start from the beginning or go straight to the technique you need most right now. Everything is structured — the pace is entirely yours.
Watch the close-up, detailed instruction. Then pick up your tools and apply it. Real learning happens at the bench — the academy is designed to be used alongside your actual work, not instead of it.
As your skills develop, so does your ability to take on higher-value commissions. Members regularly report landing work they couldn't previously have taken within weeks of starting the programme.
A completely free 1-hour training covering everything you need to get started with carbide gravers and engraving machines.
Enter your email — instant access, no payment needed.
1-hour free taster class
Results
"I found the course absolutely excellent! You're a fabulous teacher and investing in your training was the best thing I've done for my business since I began. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you!!"
"The single best investment of my career. I went from being a complete novice to working professionally and setting diamonds. I genuinely cannot believe what I'm capable of now."
"Best in the game. The organisation, explanation style, editing, camera work, and multi-angle coverage — everything is done to the highest standard. There is nothing else like this out there."
"The fishtail course changed my game completely. Ian's humility and the way he shares his knowledge is rare. I've taken other courses — none of them come close."
"The graver sharpening videos alone are worth it. You have a great teaching style — not leaving anyone behind to figure things out for themselves. Exactly what I needed."
"I learned more from Ian than from any other setting course I've taken. You gave me confidence in my French cuts that I never had before — and I'm actually happy with my work now, which never used to happen."
"The fishtail video was extremely helpful. The zoomed-in camera quality showed me things I could never see from self-teaching on Instagram or YouTube. It solved problems I'd had for years."
"Ian's fishtail course gave me proper technique and the right tools — cutting out months if not years of painful trial and error. The depth of instruction is something I've never seen in any other setting course."
Questions Answered
Some jewellery or bench experience is recommended — this is not a course for complete beginners with no tool experience at all. That said, the curriculum builds progressively and is designed to meet you where you are. Many members start with limited setting experience and progress rapidly. If you're unsure, reach out to Ian directly at ian@barnardfinejewellery.com.
The academy covers this in full, so you won't be guessing. Essentials include a GRS-style pneumatic engraver, carbide gravers, a ring fixture and ball vice, microscope, micromotor drill, beading tool handles, a quality divider set, and vernier callipers. A complete list is provided inside the course.
The academy has no schedule. It's a video library — not a live programme. You access it when it suits you. Before your working day, on a lunch break, on a Sunday afternoon. Most members work through it in 2–3 hours a week. You have the full year.
There are no refunds. When you enrol, you're committing to a full year of professional-level training. Many members recover the cost of the programme many times over within their first few weeks by taking on commissions they couldn't previously have handled. The investment is real — and so are the results.
Your membership is annual and auto-renews each year. You'll receive a reminder email 7 days before any renewal. You can cancel at any time and will retain access for the remainder of your paid year. No monthly options are available.
Especially if you're self-taught. Most self-taught setters have gaps in foundational technique they're not even aware of — because they've never had proper instruction to benchmark against. The academy consistently helps self-taught jewellers make the biggest leaps of all.
One high-end micro setting commission can return your entire investment. If the academy enables you to take on just two or three jobs in a year that you couldn't previously have handled, it more than pays for itself. Members regularly report doing exactly that within their first few weeks.
Both are now included inside the Microsetting Academy. If you've previously purchased either as a standalone course, contact Ian at ian@barnardfinejewellery.com for a promotional discount code before enrolling.
The Offer
One decision. One year. An entirely different level of skill.
Per year · Instant access · Cancel anytime
Enrolment Open
Enrolment to the academy is periodically closed to maintain standards. If you're reading this, a place is available now. The skills are learnable. The path is clear. The only question is when you decide to start.
Secure Your Place NowJoin over 200 jewellers who've already made the leap.
Join The Microsetting Academy — €1,699