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.
As many jewelry manufacturers and goldsmiths know from hard experience, cracking in jewelry can occur at any time during its manufacture. It can also occur much later, after the jewelry has been sold to the consumer or during repair. Cracking can also occur in the processing of the starting materials (the casting grain and mill products from which the jewelry is to be made), and may not be detected until several stages later in the manufacturing process....This article discusses these causes as they relate to cracking and the steps that can be taken to minimize their occurrence. The particular focus is on karat golds, but much is also applicable to silver and platinum jewelry.... (2003) Complete Story
Metal clay has not yet proven to be an effective substitute for casting: sterling silver is often preferred over fine silver for its relative strength, and the higher cost of metal clay compared to cast silver generally makes it unappealing for large volume production. But some craft artists have begun bridging the gap between one-of-a-kind and volume production by using metal clay to create production models and turning to traditional casting techniques for their reproduction..... (2004) Complete Story
Noel Yovovich discovered titanium in her first year as a jewelry artist. "A friend of mine was working with it and doing fairly typical things -- heating it from one side to get gradient bright colors, for example," says Yovovich. "She showed me how to do it, and because I can never leave well enough alone, I started experimenting with it." That experimentation led her to what would develop into her signature pieces -- complex, detailed pins and pendants in silver and titanium, which feature landscapes and interior scenes.... (2005) Complete Story
Its no secret that palladium has captured the attention of the industry. In 2005, purchase of palladium for jewelry use worldwide shot up by 54 percent, according to Johnson Mattheys Platinum 2006, and this past year has seen a proliferation of articles and seminars about the platinum group metal -- specifically 950 palladium -- as well as the formation of a new industry group, Palladium Alliance International. Yet with all of that interest has also come questions -- about how best to work with the metal, how to market and sell it, and what to expect in the future: Is palladium really here to stay? To offer insights into those issues, MJSA invited several industry experts to share their thoughts on what manufacturers can expect when working with palladium....
(2006) Complete Story
This project is dedicated to bench tricks that make working with platinum-or working at the bench in general-easier. This is the first installment of a periodic Platinum Bench series.... (2003) Complete Story
| More...
