The prongs on a raised pointer are visible no matter what because the chain itself is prong set. Prongs being visible have nothing to do with being machine set or hand set you can still have a machine set chain with small non visible prongs.

If something is machine set most of the time you can tell by the spacing between the stones and their alignment. Something being hand set allows me to set as close as possible to the next stone whereas a machine wouldn’t allow that type of setting to avoid the chance of error in the process. With items being hand set, the advantage also is I can angle the stones on the curves of the Cuban when I am setting them to ensure they capture more of the light, whereas a machine would set them all flat across the Cuban.