The Gem and Jewelry World's foremost Resource
on The Internet. Open to the public, Free of Charge! We are here to build a strong pool of
information for the benefit of Web's jewelers and craftsmen - and those
interested in jewelry and gemstones.
You start to turn and there it is again. You go to stand up from your chair and it happens again. It's that nagging pain in your neck or lower back. After several years on the bench, jewelers often develop chronic neck or back injuries.... (2003) Complete Story
Bench Jewelers often use different methods to accomplish the same work. I believe the end results are what is important, not the method used to get there. In jewelry work the ends often justifies the means. This is not more evident than in bead setting. I know jewelers who cut the seat with round, bud, cone, setting, heart, or bearing burs. Then they cut the excess metal away with flat, knife, or onglette gravers, or they use heart, wheel, round, or knife edge burs. Some even use needle files or saw blades.... (2003) Complete Story
With the popularity of tennis bracelets over the last 20 years replacing broken tongues has become a common repair in the jewelry shop. Typically these are replaced by soldering a new tongue in place. However, using a torch to solder a tongue onto a bracelet creates two problems.... (2005) Complete Story
The difficulty of chain repair lies in the fact that the chain is made up of fine wires. These wires heat up quickly when trying to melt the solder. Two problems develop. The first is if the wire link gets too hot, it will quickly melt as you are trying to solder.... (2003) Complete Story
Over the past decade, channel setting has grown in popularity. Setting small diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and even emeralds into channels has become commonplace in most shops. Hardly a week goes by without some form of repair being preformed on a channel set piece. The following tips will hopefully make this work a little easier.... (2003) Complete Story
