Micropave became available when the technology of cutting very small stones by machines was developed in the mid-1970’s. Soon after, cutters in Europe (Belgium in particular) were able to cut ideally proportioned stones in microscopic sizes. Early micropave was a new and time-consuming technique that only a few master setters could execute properly, so only a few very exclusive micropave pieces were produced. Micropave was first employed to highlight the immense value of certain important gems placed in settings. Later, when automatic cutting machines advanced to the point that large quantities were commercially produced, supplies of smaller and smaller diamonds appeared on the market. What once was very exclusive and prohibitively expensive became a common form of surface decoration in a variety of fine jewelry.

The term "micropave" refers to a technique of setting small diamonds (“melee”) or colored stones in multiple rows over the entire surface of a jewelry piece with a precision that is only possible using high magnification. Some variations of the term are: microscopic pave, mini-pave, micro-set, etc. Micropave is a type of regular (macro) pave but not every type of pave would qualify as "micro." The word “pave” (pronounced Pah-vay) is French and refers to the intricately placed pieces of cobblestone that comprise many European roadways.

The main difference between micropave and pave is that stones used in micropave are smaller and are set using a different technique. Unlike regular pave, where stone sizes can vary in order to fill the space, micropave achieves that same result by using stones of a uniform size that are offset from row to row creating a honeycomb-like pattern.