Enter the alloy designers. Some praise them. Some pity them. For the alloy designers have a tough job on their hands: They have to design metals that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also offer mechanical properties suitable for making jewelry. This is not an easy task. (more…)

For a growing number of jewelry manufacturers and retailers, pure Palladium is a new and viable alternative to white gold.

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Industry technical experts create precious concho belt to honor Eddie Bell (more…)

Granulation comes from the Latin “granulum” or granum” meaning “grain”. It is a decorative process involving the application of small, usually spherical granules to a base object by fusion weld bonding. (more…)

Knowing the ins and outs of findings demonstrates another aspect of quality in your shop

A ll of us – bench jewelers and sales professionals alike – work hard to earn the respect and loyalty of our customers. It’s called setting ourselves apart and establishing the place where people want to shop. (more…)

By applying patinas, designers can bring new textures to their work - and add a few surprises. (more…)

Make Delicate Designs in Wood with a Plunge Router, a Template, and a Tiny Bit.

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If gem inlay is a simple matter of gluing mineral slivers into metal recesses, why does it take apprentices at Bagley & Hotchkiss Ltd. Three years to learn the basics of this art? (more…)

If you want to see sterling examples of precious metal inlay, look at your face in a mirror and open wide. Your fillings, assuming you have some, are perfect illustrations of this technique. Put as simply and broadly as possible, inlay is the permanent embedding of one material in another. (more…)

Gold doesn’t have to glitter to be gold. In fact, many jewelry manufacturers deliberately trade high gloss for low luster in order to give their pieces a muted appearance. Since gold is, by nature, a metal that loves to shine, keeping it from doing so requires skillful mutilation with various abrasives. (more…)