As retail stores and wholesale companies get into the designing and manufacturing end of the trade, more people than ever before need to know the basics of melting precious metals. Read the rest of this entry »

Professionally Prepared Stud Earrings

A. The nut is the proper size for the post and fits securely into the locking position. Read the rest of this entry »

Something goes wrong. You spot it in production. Or worse, a customer calls to complain about a shipment. You can’t imagine what happened. What do you do first? Where do you look? How do you find the problem? Read the rest of this entry »

A good jewelry caster must be familiar with some of the basic concepts of metallurgy, ceramic science and mechanics, so that he can use these technologies for the benefit of his trade and art. Jewelry casters over the centuries have done fine work, as is attested to by gold castings done by early Egyptians, Africans and the South American Indians (Fig. 1). Read the rest of this entry »

When you heat up your work for soldering and reach the temperature at which solder flows, you are also creating oxides on the surface of your metal that mar its appearance. In November, we dealt with removing a particularly tricky oxide called fire scale. Other surface oxides are easier to remove, and for these the jeweler can use an acid solution commonly called pickle, which will also remove the residue of flux at the same time. You can also remove these oxides by abrasion using files or abrasive paper, but using a pickle is more efficient. Read the rest of this entry »

Beginner-to-intermediate project.

Fourth in a series of 12 ring repair projects.
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Collecting scrap pieces of metal is inevitable in jewelry fabrication. As a silversmith for the past 13 years, I have collected quite an array of sterling silver scrap. This, of course, could be sold or cast into something useful. However, I am more attracted to starting from scratch. The reward comes from my own design and construction. Read the rest of this entry »

The wife loses a stone; the husband blames the wife; the wife blames the jeweler; the jeweler blames the manufacturer; the manufacturer looks for an answer. Read the rest of this entry »

Intermediate project. Eighth in a series of 12 ring repair projects.
Photos: Barry Blau. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Calculate investment and water requirements. Use a ratio of water/powder of
44\100 for gypsum based investments, ie. 44g (or ml) water to 100g powder.
For any flask of diameter (D) and height (H), calculate investment
requirement as: Read the rest of this entry »