[Jewelry making - Article 00841] - Re: [Orchid] Article: Minimal Metalsmithing

[Carla M. Fox]

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>     Do you stamp your cast pieces C.925? Do you stamp your foil F 24K
>     ? It's just not done. That's not the way of the world. Customers
>     don't know what MC stands for. Much of the time, they can't
>     find/see the stamp anyway. The resistance is because your request is
>     inconsistent with metalsmithing standards. 

    I don't cast so I don't stamp it anything. Cast metals have been
    around for centuries and there is wide spread common knowledge
    amongst buyers and repair jewelers how it will wear over time and
    will react on a repair bench. No need to stamp. 

    My concerns are: Metal clay is new, man-made, and being sold to
    beginners to use-"with no metal experience needed." People without
    metal experience are told it's easy to work with, and again by
    anecdotal stories, this can result in underfired metal clay that
    crumbles. Plus those without the metal background can make things
    that will not perform in ways a similar piece of milled metal would.
    (A cuff bracelet comes to mind.) 

    Also from the anecdotal stories here it has been said that MC
    requires a metal clay person to repair it with metal clay. I would
    like to hear from bench jewelers who have tried to repair it without
    knowing what it is. 

    Add to that its more porous structure, its lower tensile strength, &
    the fact a piece of jewelry made of metal clay will weigh less then
    one of milled fine silver-it is a slightly different animal. Just
    like a fine silver( milled) chain is different then a sterling chain
    and we mark them differently. Metal clay jewelry won't perform in the
    same way a similar piece of milled fine silver will and should be
    stamped/labeled as such. 

    In otherwords, metal clay is a different product used by people with
    different ideas of how it should function, and therefore should be
    labeled so all can make adjustments. Form, function, technique. All
    these are part of successful metal jewelry-that a wearer can trust
    to wear for years to come and get repaired if necessary. But the end
    buyer need to have correct information, up front. 

    In your last statement I am in complete disagreement. Metalsmiths,
    by tradition and ethics, have labeled everything, told all, explained
    in great detail our work. It is in the metalsmithing standards to
    label. I see it as deceptive trade practices to not label and that
    label has been a stamp. 

    Had "Metalsmith" magazine labeled the metal clay pieces "fine silver
    from metal clay," there might have been some converts to metal clay,
    as traditional metalsmiths realized what exceptional work can be
    done with it. A thump on the head to "Metalsmith" for not letting us
    know how those pieces were made. After all it is a magazine aimed at
    metalsmiths who are always interested in new techniques, materials,
    and ways to solve old problems. Why keep it a secret? 

    Ultimately I see the problem being the end buyer. If I sold you a
    pad sapphire & I did not tell you it was lab-grown and you later
    found out that it was a lab-grown sapphire, how would you feel about
    me as an honest upright jeweler? Same issue when men buy moissanite
    diamonds and don't tell their ladies they aren't "real" diamonds.
    Huge trust issues. The buying public needs to know that it is a
    different type of fine silver then milled fine silver and will
    behave & potentially wear differently. It's the ethical thing to do.
    Its the wise thing to do. 

    I suspect we will agree to disagree on this point. I think we are
    both pretty firm in our own point of views. Thank you tho' for the
    continued civil debate, I value that very much. 

Carla

 
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