Business and Marketing
Wide variety of categories related to jewelry as a business.
HomeBusiness and Marketing
Electroplating Jewellery
Electroplating is a method to put a metal coating onto an object, in our case a piece of jewellery, by...
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4 C’s of Effective Communication
Peter Drucker claims that 60% of all business problems result from faulty communication. The percentage is even higher in our...
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Calculating ROI for Tool and Equipment Purchases
Whether youre running a 15-person workshop or a 400-worker factory, you should know before buying whether a piece of equipment...
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Natural Rubber or Silicone Rubber?
Natural rubber or silicone rubber? In the world of lost wax casting, this question is hardly an academic one. The...
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Generation Z: Future Jewelry Consumers
Generation Z is tech savvy, frugal, philanthropic, and globally aware, and soon its members will be shopping at a jewelry...
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Casting Investment Powder Performances
In each step of manufacturing jewelry, there are many factors that can adversely affect quality. Because of this, process control...
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Hollow Carat Gold Jewelry
There is always pressure to reduce the cost of manufactured items and carat gold jewellery is no exception to this...
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Identifying and Preventing Wax Defects
Manufacturer spend much time and money diagnosing defects that are believed to originate in the casting process, but actually occur...
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Jewellery Career Options
One of the most interesting things about the jewellery/metals field is that there are so many career options, so many...
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Differences between Managing and Micromanaging
As a Business Strategy it is important to recognize the differences between managing and micromanaging. Read on for Andrea Hill's...
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Practical Guide to Mass Finishing Jewelry
A microscopic and technical view of mass finishing presented in layman's terms. Understanding of mass finishing must start at the...
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Additive Manufacturing in the Jewelry Scene
Did you ever imagine you'd see the day when a finely woven mesh bracelet with thousands of tiny links could...
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Optimising Gold Alloys for Manufacturing
Standard yellow gold alloys which are based on gold-silver copper can be used for many production processes. They could be...
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Hard 22 Carat Gold Alloy
The jewellery market is looking for harder high-carat gold alloys that are more resistant to wear and scratching. Current research...
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Sample Consignment Agreement Contract
The following is Consignment Agreement contract. It is intended for information purposes only although if you wish to use it...
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Top 5 Indirect Manufacturing Costs
In every business there are costs that are directly associated with producing a product. These direct costs are items such...
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Tumbling Technique Hints
When burnishing very detailed pieces, use stainless pins in your mixed shot. Don’t use them any other time because the...
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Working with Platinum & Platinum Designing
My skills as an artist combined with my years of experience at the bench have given me a practical approach...
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Basic Principles for Wet Tumbling on Gold Jewellery
The correct use of modern, semi- automated finishing processes enables the manufacturer not only to reduce production costs, but also...
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Working with White Gold
White gold jewelry is a hot fashion trend that does not show signs of cooling off any time soon. Manufacturers...
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Branding, Copyrights and Trademarks
Given the competitive climate of the jewelry industry, copyrights and trademarks are important ways for manufacturers and retailers to set...
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Causes & Prevention of Defects in Wrought Alloys
Much of the recent literature on defects that occur in jewellery manufacture is focused on those occurring in lost wax...
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CAD/CAM: Jewelry Industry Benefits
CAD/CAM is a term that describes the two-part process of designing three-dimensional objects on a computer (CAD) and manufacturing them...
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Jewelers’ Repair Pricing Strategies
Repair pricing strategies used by three featured jewelers.
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Laser Welders Impacting the Jewelry Industry
The one tool that allows each of these jewelers to do their jobs better is a laser welder, a technological...
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Pricing Formula for Jewelry Pieces
Editor’s Note: Pricing jewelry pieces is one of the most challenging things jewelry designers must do. Price a piece too...
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Electroforming Workshop Preparation
The size of the bath must correspond to the rectifier. You cannot have a huge bath and a small rectifier....
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Make Your Own Jewelry Displays
Here are some photos of jewelry displays I have made. Bend galvanized sheet metal to make an acute sort of...
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E.U. Expands Gem Buying
The European Union’s gemstone imports were up a solid 7.5 percent to €412.5 million (US$544.4 million) in 2006, mostly on...
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A Metalsmith’s Guide to Germany
My trips to Germany in 1980 and 1982 were the most satisfying experiences in relation to my metalwork. They were...
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Project Management for Jewelers
I came up with this system to solve some production and prioritizing problems at a small custom jewelry store. We...
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What to Know About Heavy Metal Testing
Before you submit any jewelry item to a lab to test for heavy metals, you're going to need to do...
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Electroforming for Innovative Design
There are four principal methods of producing jewellery today: Hand making, using traditional craft skills, Investment (Lost wax) Casting, Pressing...
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Communication for Customer Satisfaction
In the quest to get some insights into designing and marketing customized jewelry "customer whisperers" agreed that communication is the...
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Lighting for Jewelry Photography
The goal of this guide is to help you create images of your jewelry that you can be proud of,...
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Profitable Jewelry Design and Repair
A few years ago, Jewelers Circular Magazine reported that over 75% of all retail jewelers in America lose money on...
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Testing the New HD Patterns
Invented by Victor Joyner, a Chicagobased manufacturing jeweler, patented High Definition (HD) Patterns are made of a light-curing polymer material...
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Marketing Your Work as PMC or Fine Silver
The doors to the craft show have opened, and customers are beginning to make their way down the aisle. One...
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950 Palladium: Selling Points
Designers and manufacturers have embraced 950 palladium alloys for a variety of jewelry manufacturing products. At the recent JA Jewelry...
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Gemstone Cut Value
Imagine, if you will, two colored stones. Both exhibit good color. Both are relatively inclusion free. Both tip the scale...
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Yellow-Green and Green Beryl
Yellow-green beryl has achieved 'desired gem' status with consumers just within the last few years. Museums were eager to acquire...
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Production Methods for Palladium Chain Making
As proudly proclaimed in its name, Balestra 1882 has manufactured high quality gold and platinum chain in Italy since 1882....
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Production Project Proposal
This is an example of a production project proposal involving the reproduction of two historically important buttons. This shows how...
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CAD/CAM Impact on Jewellery Fabrication
This paper looks at the impact computer technology, specifically CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacture), has had on jewelry fabrication...
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Platinum Fabricating & Stamping
This paper is aimed mainly at the small- to medium-sized jewelry manufacturing operations interested in working with platinum group metals....
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Perfect Finishing Tools and Techniques
Our castings can be flawless, our assembly precise, and our settings secure -- but let any surface go a bit...
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North American Sources for Equipment, Materials, etc.
This page offers a list of some useful North American Sources for Equipment, Materials, information, etc that would be very...
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From Limited to Mass Production of Jewelry
Like many university-art-department-trained craftspeople of the 50s, I was educated to be one-of-a-kind snob, sneering at production people. They were...
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Jewelry Design and Manufacturing Process
At GLJW it iss not unusual to see the sales staff wearing jewelers aprons and optivisors at one of the...
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The Metal Arts Guild of Ontario
In 1946 a small band of metal enthusiasts in Toronto, Canada, formed the Metal Arts Guild (MAG) "to promote and...
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Changing Metals Market Pricing
As you may have noticed (Id be astonished if you hadnt), prices for gold and silver, platinum too, are on...
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Avoiding a Zero-Sum Game
We use the term “zero-sum game” fairly often, but I suspect most people don’t stop and think about the meaning...
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The Arts and Crafts Movement
"It is allowing machines to be our masters and not our servants that so insures the beauty of life nowadays."...
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Vermeil Jewelries
Considering metals prices continue to be sky high, it's no surprise that plating companies' phones are ringing off the hook....
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Production Jewelers: Design & Industrial Techniques
This is the second in a series of articles about production jewelers. This installment concentrates on design versus saleability, the...
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The Jewelry of Barney Jette
Barney Jette and wife Nancy Ball have built a retail success story,
solely focused on jewelry featuring Jettes design. The...
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Social Networking Tips for Jewelry Companies
The most trusted way for Jewelers, Artists, Craftsmen ' Metalsmiths to discover state-of-the-art products and services has fundamentally changed. Word-of-mouth has become a Metalsmiths most efficient way of learning about new products...
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Judging Juried Exhibition
The cry of the rejected: “Why?” is the loudest single continuing lament heard after every juried show. Even when juror’s...
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Himalayan Ruby Hunt
In February 2006, some unusual rubies began to appear in the gem market in Bangkok, Thailand. They were both attractive...
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A New Method for Gilding Silver
A New Method for Gilding Silver
A variety of methods for gilding silver surfaces have been used in the past....
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Proper Studio Light
Do not get caught in the dark - make certain your shop is well lit. In the jewelry shop, two...
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Innovative Approaches to Small Shop Success
When most of us talk about innovation, we are talking about new tools and techniques. But innovation is not exclusively...
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Live And Let Die (Struck)
In a manufacturing environment, there are numerous pitfalls and problems that will conspire to prevent successful completion of a job....
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3 Top Challenges for Jewelry Makers in 2014
Editor's Note: Looking ahead at the coming year, it's just as important to consider the challenges facing the jewelry industry...
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CAD/CAM Design and Model Making Services
Retailers seeking designers and model makers for fulfilling custom orders or for developing new designs exclusive to their inventories have...
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Metalsmith Suite iPhone App Test
The jewelry industry today is not what it was 15 or 20 years ago. From CAD/CAM to inventory control software,...
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Betty Helen Longhi Exhibition
It is refreshing to see a designer of Betty Helen Longhi's ability break away from the museum mentality and move...
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Cultural Influences Characteristics
There are parallels in many areas: a carefree mix of style and cultural influences characterizes the overall trends in the...
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Display & Packaging
This segment from the 2017 MJSA Journal November issue is dedicated to metals, tools, software and more that aids jewelers...
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Return of Investment (ROI) Formula
To determine whether or not to invest in a new piece of equipment, begin by considering the following questions - ...
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Colored Gemstones on Men’s Jewelry
Colored Gemstones on Men’s Jewelry is becoming a trend and may as will be dominating men's fashion as noted by ...
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Redefining Fine Jewelry
Ask someone to define "fine jewelry" and you'll usually hear something about gold, platinum, diamonds, and other traditionally "precious" materials....
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6 Tips for Refining Returns
When it comes to your shop, cleanliness is next to godliness. At least it should be when you’re dealing with...
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Craftsmanship Improvement Method
This is a method to reduce technical problems which one repeatedly experienes. We all find during the learning process that...
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The Use of Marketing and Policy Instruments
While firms in the US have busied themselves for decades with marketing goals and tasks, the topic was first taken...
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Claus Bury Architectonic Propositions
Claus Bury's rejection of his immediate past, a long standing European tradition in goldsmithing, and his defection to the fine...
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The New Jewelry Museum in Pforzheim
There is an excited feel to the atmosphere – the Jewelry Museum is preparing for the grand opening on March...
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Belgian Contemporary Jewelry Designers
The brain child of a private art-craft dealer, Denise Renard-Honhon, this exhibition presented 22 of Belgium's contemporary jewelry designers. The...
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From Art to Enameling Career
I would first like to introduce myself. My name is Jaime Frechette and I am a studio artist from Cincinnati,...
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Moissanite Gemstone – Marketing Dynamite
It's called moissanite and it's described as a proprietary, nearcolorless, lab created gemstone. It's visually almost identical to diamond, and...
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Resolving Surface Irregularities in T-Splines
T-splines, a plug-in for Rhinoceros CAD software and bundled with Matrix 7 and above, is a great modeling tool for...
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5 German Jewelers Marketing Strategies
Five German jewelers who chose not to follow the traditional vocational training of "master goldsmith," but rather opted to study...
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Casting Gold to Platinum for the Jewelry Industry
The principle of bi-metal casting is really very simple: A wax model is invested, cast and finished. A secondary wax...
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Low-Cost Rapid Prototype Systems
Five years ago, if you wanted to buy an additive manufacturing machine to grow rapid prototype (RP) models in your...
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The Art of Individual Packaging
Etuis, cartons, boxes, sacks or caskets – there is a large selection of packagin. They are appreciated by goldsmiths and...
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Robert Lee Morris: The Business of Marketing Art Jewelry
Jewelry was never on his mind—at least not while he was studying art and anthropology in college. It was filmmaking...
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Separating Work and Home
Often craftspeople start out making craft objects in their living space, a kitchen, a living room, and sometimes continue working...
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The San Francisco Metal Arts Guild
When I returned from Europe in 1951, my friend Margaret de Patta called and invited me to join a group...
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The Department of Trier
The Department of Gemstone and Jewelry Design of the University of Applied Sciences of Trier is the only one of...
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Gemstone Supply Rough Times
Historically speaking, gemstone mining has always been hit or miss. When miners make a big strike, gemstones flood the market,...
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Business Software Tools
This segment from the 2017 MJSA Journal November issue is dedicated to metals, tools, software and more that aids jewelers...
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Suggested Tools from Karl Fischer
Ask for a catalog with an English supplement. Order by surface if a heavy order as shipping from Germany is...
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950 Palladium Bridal Jewelry Manufacturing
Retailers have been converting bridal inventories from white gold to palladium as manufacturers expand the selection of new palladium jewelry...
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CAD/CAM: Passion and Innovation
Greg Stopka and his wife Lee began JewelSmiths 18 years ago with a belief they could succeed by providing jewelry...
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Form and Function in Booth Design
Selling jewelry at national craft fairs and trade shows has become a primary source of income for an increasing number...
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Maximizing Bench Work Profitability
Jeffrey Johnson has two stores, 18 bench jewelers, and over 100 employees-and he still has time to work at the...
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The Artists as Curators and Critics
Fortunately, change is inevitable. Even for those individuals in the art establishment who assert that artists cannot and should not...
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3 Details of Jewelry Refinement
Quality matters to Michael Bondanza; he has been known to rebuild entire finished pieces -- some containing hundreds of precisely...
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2017 Top Jewelry Trends
Discover the 2017 Top Jewelry Trends in gold, silver, and platinum—and an update on the metals markets as compiled by...
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Improvements in Shop Security Technology
When you work with materials as valuable as precious metals and gemstones, you need to take measures to keep them...
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Samuel Yellin, Metalworker
At a time marked by an international revival of the blacksmith's art, the Samuel Yellin exhibition at the Federal Reserve...
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Carrie Adell: Energies of Transformation
Carrie Adell is perhaps best known for her jewelry which transforms common, familiar, organic and geometric objects and forms into...
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Basic Approach to Product Design
Design is a perennial issue for all who produce objects meant for a specific use, utilitarian, in contrast to objects...
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Production Jewelers: Marketing Production
This is the third in a series of articles from Metalsmith about production jewelers. This installment concentrates on marketing production...
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Marketing Plan Worksheet
This checklist is a chance for you to go over your marketing business plan and be sure it is _up...
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Crafts Criticism
Crafts Criticism
The following is reprinted from the 1992 monograph published by the Haystack Institute. Haystack Mountain School of Crafts...
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Fancy Color Diamonds
Coveted for their beauty and rarity, fancy color diamonds remain the hottest category in the diamond market. At gem and...
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Master Metalsmith Svetozar Radakovich
This appreciation by Robert McDonald, former chief curator of the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art in California, was written...
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Recycling Gold from Electronics
With over 300 tonnes of gold used in electronics each year, end-of-life electronic equipment offers an important recycling potential for...
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Managing Quality Problems
When I was in grade school, I decided to enter a gardening contest for 4H. Though I had experience helping...
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The Ethics of Materials
I have always thought that if no other lesson had begun to seep through peoples' inertia and greed, that at...
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Jewelry Photography Film Types
The film that I’m going to recommend, and that I use myself, is 64 ISO Tungsten Ecktachrome film. It only...
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Depth of Field in Photography
Depth of field refers to the amount of the object that is in focus (the depth that is in focus)....
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Artists’ Jewelry in Galleries
What plan of action should jewelry designers follow if they wish to successfully promote their jewelry in galleries? Wait bashfully...
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Unreliable Fruit
The gemstone dealers in Ban Lung, the dusty capital of Ratanakiri province, Cambodia, work in a ramshackle group of storefronts...
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Blue Spinel Turning Heads
Well worth a fresh inspection under the loupe is some fine blue spinel currently on the market. An ancient group...
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Wendy Ramshaw Retrospective Exhibition
This exhibit, which originated at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1982, will be traveling for two years...
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Hans Appenzeller’s Elegant Designs
In April of 1983, a simple and relatively unpretentious store joined the ranks of the illustrious "boutiques" and other high-priced...
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Gemological Institute of America: Career Nurturing
The Gemological Institute of America, GIA, is the world’s leading center of excellence for all issues concerning gemstones and pearls....
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Effective Trade Show Follow-Up Campaign
Research has long suggested that the majority of leads generated by trade shows never receive follow-up by company representatives. If...
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How to Refuse Big Orders
Refusing a big order may sound like a business mistake, but sometimes saying no pays. Sales do not equal profit,...
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Structuring for Efficiency in the Studio
Being more organized, and planning how you use your time will mean that you will spend less time on some...
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The Washington Guild of Goldsmiths
It all began in 1978. Gretchen Klunder-Raber issued an open invitation to all persons interested in metalsmithing in the Washington,...
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Robert Ebendorf and Ivy Ross Exhibition
While this was not the first time that Ivy Ross and Robert Ebendorf have exhibited together, this exhibition showed clearly...
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Selling Natural, Unenhanced Gem Material
The marketing slogan 'All Natural' has been used for years to advertise products from cereal to shampoo. Now some gem...
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Communication with Jewelry Photography
The photography of jewelry can achieve a whole lot more than just depicting products. It can focus on unique details...
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World Mining Report 2005 – The Middle East
Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority of mining is still done by independent,...
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3 Ways to Avoid Production Obstacles
Some production obstacles are unavoidable, but many can be overcome by addressing a few key areas of your business
Whether...
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Laying Bricks for the Future
Dinner conversation at our home has always been lively, and we especially love the time we spend laying bricks. We...
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Charles Lewton-Brain Exhibition
A goldsmith, not only a jeweler, Charles Lewton-Brain exhibits the competence and traditional skills accumulated through studies at the Nova...
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Jewellery in Transition
In early 1983 a call for entry was sent out across Canada for submissions to a multimedia, nonprecious jewellery exhibition...
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Resume Preparation for Gallery Presentation
The first questions to ask yourself when preparing a resume are: For whom is it intended? What do I want...
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German Jewelry: Freedom Through Precision
Mention German craftsmanship, and we think of diligent Black Forest elves making precision cameras and automobiles. Ordinarily, "precision" connotes accuracy,...
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Goldsmithing in the Future
This article is a set of predictions for what the jewelers bench and workshop will experience in technological change in...
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2017 JCK Las Vegas Show Industry insights
The overarching theme in major presentations for the diamond and jewelry industry during the JCK Las Vegas Show in June...
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Metalsmith ’91 Fall: Exhibition Reviews
This article showcases various exhibitions in the form of collected exhibition reviews published in the 1991 Fall issue of the...
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Jewelry Design: New York State Artists Exhibition
For the "Jewelry Design" show at the Johnson Museum of Art, Louise Porter, Coordinator of Crafts, selected both jewelry and...
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Vertical Photography Set
This vertical photography set can be constructed inexpensively to photograph small objects such as jewelry and vessels from high angles....
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Students Photographing Jewelry
“The saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” could scarcely be more relevant that in the creative sector....
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Administering a Client Personality Test
When working with a client to discern their personal style, do you ever administer a personality test? If not, you...
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Stuart Devlin Retrospective Exhibition
Stuart Devlin's exhibition offered the viewer a feast, a visit to an Aladdin's cave. The exhibition celebrated 25 years of...
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Successful Artists Collaboration
When Theo Janson and Vanessa Compton moved into the winding basement studio space on Toronto's Markham Street in May 1978,...
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Production Jewelers: Design, Marketing and Business
This is the fourth in a series of articles from Metalsmith about production jewelers: design, marketing and business.
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Business...
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The State of Metalsmithing and Jewelry
This article is a continuing dialogue on the State of Metalsmithing and Jewelry by Donald Friedlich and Judith Mitchell with ...
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Cost-Effective, Small-Scale Jewelry Photography
Good photos of your work, or pieces you take in for repair, are invaluable. These small-scale photos, however, can be...
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Online Purchases on Gemstones
Not so long ago, it was considered impossible that any product, let alone high-end jewelry and gemstones, could be sold...
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Virtuoso Symposium Exhibition
It is possible to practice medicine and do it very successfully and happily without much familiarity with or interest in...
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6 Ingredients for Bestselling Jewelry Designs
To be successful, jewelry designers need more than just great designs - they need the right blend of six key...
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Tips on Learning Website Basics
In today's internet driven market place you need to have a website whether you are a small "Mom & Pop"...
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Photographing Small Art Objects
As a former staff photographer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sheldan Collins has photographed an extraordinary range of art...
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Atelier d’Artisanat du Centre-Ville
The Atelier d'Artisanat du Centre-Ville Inc., Montreal, Quebec, was founded in 1971 as an answer to rising problems of unemployment...
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Jewelers’ Stories About Working with Findings
When a commercial finding isn't quite right but making the component by hand seems like reinventing the wheel, creative modification...
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Forging Better Working Relationships with Subcontractors
When searching for subcontractors, you can learn a lot from your friends in the jewelry industry. Many designers and jewelers...
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Vibratory Finishing Method
Chemical and mechanical processing work together to treat the vibratory finishing wastewater at Aro-Sac, increasing production, making the water reusable...
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Faster, More Efficient Laser Welders
Since their introduction to the jewelry industry, laser welders have been lauded for their speed, accuracy, and convenience of use....
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Ancient Inspirations: Contemporary Interpretations
When I first heard about the craft show "Ancient Inspirations: Contemporary Interpretations," I was impressed. The press information packet that...
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4 Tips to Boost Refining Returns
This article highlights some 4 tips to boost refining returns that will prove dollar wise and useful for you.
You've...
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Cool Hunting in the Jewelry World
One of my roles for the last few years has been that of an innovation awards judge for MJSA. This...
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Gayle Saunders Exhibition
Of the various schools of thought about design, "less is more" has been one of the most enduring of the...
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Decision-making and the Subconscious
Will consumers of the future differ from consumers of the 90’s? No, because people’s gene structures have hardly changed in...
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Galleries: The Vo Galerie
This is the first in a series on galleries that specialize in jewelry and metalwork. The Vo Galerie is a...
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Joan Michlin: Current Metalsmithing
Celebrating its move to a new location, Creative Metalsmiths featured the slick art jewelry of Joan Michlin. Her futuristic style...
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Production Jewelers: How They Survive
From time to time, Metalsmith will locus a series of articles on a particular aspect of jewelers. Beginning in this...
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Getting the Most Out of Trade Shows
MJSA's Mary Walek asked me to do a session called "Shop the Show" in New York. When I first read...
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CAD/CAM and Expertise of David Nytch
David Nytch, proprietor of West ' Co. an independently owned jewelry store in Webster, NY is changing the way customers...
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New Generation Gallerists
What does it mean to be a gallerist today, especially one who deals exclusively in art jewelry? To find out,...
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2018 Top Gem and Jewelry Trends
In addition to miles of aisles of beautiful finished jewelry on display, the JCK Las Vegas show offered attendees the...
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World Mining Report 2005 – Central and South America
Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority of mining is still done by independent,...
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Projects of Exploration: Visual Intricacy
This is the fourth in a series of projects for students, created to provide a forum in Metalsmith for provocative...
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Komelia Hongja Okim Exhibition
Translated into English, Korea means "chosen." Komelia Hongja Okim, a native of Korea, has faced a great many consequential choices...
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Cutting Down Repair Costs
Much of my business comes from re-cutting colored gems that have been chipped, scratched and broken (not always by the...
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Platinum Bridal Jewelry
If you have never manufactured with platinum and you think that you are ready, if you manufacture with platinum, but...
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Amateur Artists Fill Unique Niche in the Jewelry World
For jewelry artists, it iss an opportunity to sell work that has become difficult to place at price-conscious mainstream jewelry...
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Austrian Jewelers Exhibition
All five artists in this 5 Austrian Jewelers show were trained at the Hochschüle für angewandte Kunst in Vienna. While...
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Modes of Working with Jewelry
This short paper offers a set of names to describe how the jewellery metals field is made up in terms...
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Behind Mine Walls
Internationally known designers and artists now come and go where up until 17 years ago mine workers and coal dust...
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Design Material Alternatives
Expanding the boundaries of conventional jewelry design through the use of unusual materials -- Titanium, Niobium, Copper, Metal clay, Acrylic,...
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10 Key Ingredient of Retail Success
After 30 years in the jewelry industry working as a bench jeweler, sales professional, manager and owner, Michael Gerwig had...
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Cost Effective, Small Scale Jewelry Photography
Good photos of your work, or pieces you take in for repair, are invaluable. These small-scale photos, however, can be...
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Cutting Grooves & Channels with the Matt Trimmer
Matt Trimmer - The milling operation.
With a quick adjustment of the table, you can cut grooves, line channels and...
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Double-boxing Boxes Unboxed
In this day and age, everyone knows the necessity of double-boxing items shipped; but then, do they?
The boxes arrived;...
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Janice Kluge: Metalwork and Sculpture
Janice Kluge's exhibition of metalwork and sculpture at the Birmingham Museum of Art was small in scale but rich in...
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Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Elementary School
In Spring 2005 I embarked on a Residency at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Elementary School in Pinellas Park, FL. The art...
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Metalwork: A National Invitational Exhibition
This show provided an overview of some of the new directions and esthetic concerns of metalsmiths in the 1980s. Curated...
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Trade Show Marketing Tip
At most trade shows, you could stock up on enough pens, notepads, tote bags, and keychains to start a thriving...
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Goethe: Strong Alliances in Design
“It is not good for people to be alone, particularly not to work alone. Rather, they need participation and stimulation...
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Curtis LaFollette Exhibition
From the very cover of the announcement brochure, one sensed the struggles and conflicts represented in the work in this...
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Deborah Aguado: Use of Image and Enigma in Jewelry
Stone, metal and space compose the careful balance in Deborah Aguado's work. Her first geometric formalisms constructed in metal were...
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Hart Jewelers Drive for Growth
Hart Jewelers in Grants Pass, OR has been a family owned store for over 50 years. Owner Tom Hart proclaims,...
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Made in the USA 2017
MADE IN THE USA: Where We Stand is an update on the jewelry industry’s efforts to promote homegrown products.
It...
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The State of the Jewelry Industry
Trends and challenges in 2017
By the time you’re reading this article, the 2016 presidential election will be over. And...
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Jewelry Photography Communication
The photography of jewelry can achieve a whole lot more than just depicting products. It can focus on unique details...
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Marking Your Turf
Given the competitive climate of the jewelry industry, copyrights and trademarks are important ways for manufacturers and retailers to set...
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All That Glitters Exhibition
"All That Glitters," the first national competitive exhibition of fine art glass and jewelry in Arizona, featured the work of...
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Setting Higher Marketing Goals
I had an interesting insight just yesterday about marketing and promotion. We’ve been experimenting heavily with social media marketing for...
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PR Marketing Tools to Have
The point is to survive and prosper as an artist or craftsperson. This means that one has to deal with...
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Web 2.0: Future of Communications
In future, we may look back and say that the internet, with its seemingly endless possibilities for communication, changed the...
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Confidential Disclosure Form
This form may be used if you have an idea for a product and wish to approach a manufacturer. It...
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ICA Eyes Dubai
The 12th biennial International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) Congress, held May 6-9 at the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel & Suites...
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Commercial Enameled Art Projects
The show season had come and gone. With my kids still in school, I was unable to participate in the...
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Reinventing Retail with CAD
Greg Stopka of JewelSmiths in Pleasant Hill , California , has been in the jewelry business since he was eight...
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The Test Market for Creative Ideas
The Forum Brand New – New Brand was given life five years ago at inhorgenta europe in Munich, while the...
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Nick Hodgson on buying Gemstones
Nick Hodgson of www.astrogems.com explains how he buys gemstone crystal material on the streets in the gem mining areas of...
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How to Construct a Portable Photographic Studio
The successful documentation of finished work is of vital concern to every artist. Excellent slides make better teaching tools, and...
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The Funding Conundrum
Business people look long and hard at their choices before acquiring an expensive piece of equipment for their companies. Price,...
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Modified CAD Design
What do you do when you realize your virtual inventory is virtually impossible to manufacture? With so many jewelry designers...
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Some Thoughts on Pricing
While the marketing genius of Sam Walton may no longer be with us, his basic philosophy of providing the lowest...
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10 Steps to Achieving Great PR
For more than 30 years, Linda Goldstein Dunay has devoted her career to helping fine jewelry manufacturers reach their customers....
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We Are Strong Together
The cliche is coming undone. Instead of laboriously asserting themselves on the market, as is apparently befitting of a genuine...
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GemBits – Gemstone Enhancements
Which is the best to buy: natural, enhanced, imitation, artificial or synthetic gems? The answer depends on how you plan...
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Juried Exhibitions
There is nothing that will block the path towards acceptance in a juried situation more quickly than a poor quality...
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World Mining Report 2005 – Africa
Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority of mining is still done by independent,...
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World Mining Report 2005 – North America
Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority of mining is still done by independent,...
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2 Tips for a Successful Jewelry Collection
In times of increased price competition and global producers, cooperation with designers is also an important factor for large jewelry...
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State of the Art
State of the Art
In 1968, a group of jewelers met "to organize professional designer craftsmen in metal arts." Attending...
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5 Holiday Casting Process Tips
The hazy days of summer aren’t too soon to begin thinking of designs for the holidays—and how to best cast...
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How to Use Time Fully
Always try to understand, that you are your own best enemy. Be nice to yourself when tackling the unknown. Realize...
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Risking Failure to Master New Things
My grandson has spent the last several weeks learning how to walk. This new risk comes with a lot of...
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The Work of John Marshall
The success of John Marshall's art, as a practicing metalsmith, was evident in this impressive exhibition. Held in conjunction with...
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Recent Sightings: Jamie Bennett
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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Promoting Contemporary Jewelry
There are several organizations in Germany targeted at spreading and promoting contemporary jewelry design. They organize exhibitions and trade fair...
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Design for the Way Things Are: Survey of Ideas
New Jewelry Ideas from Other Realms of Experience
“Meaning brings form with it; form is never without meaning” Johann Wolfgang...
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World Mining Report 2005 – Asia
Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority of mining is still done by independent,...
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The Next Step for Independent Business Development
The following interview between Akiko Busch and Etienne Perret and Michael Good was held as a result of the business...
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Risk and Reverence
Risk and Reverence
In this portfolio I have brought together the work of a group of artists who while pursuing...
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Art Transportation Packing Methods
Packing is hardly a glamorous subject. Yet, like labeling and billing, it remains one of those sine qua nons of...
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Sapphire Retail Sales Back with a Twist
If we needed more proof that our society is obsessed with celebrity style, we have only to look at the...
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Sphearrings: From Concept to Market
One of the newest earring findings to hit the market is showing a little earlobe midriffand it could turn the...
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Recent Sightings: Heart Pins
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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Small Objects Photography Check Lists
These are some check lists to use when preparing to phtograph objects.
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Recent Sightings: Functionalism
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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The Value of Good Team Communication
Anyone who’s played a team sport knows the value of good team communication. Without it, no matter the skills of...
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Displaying Watches and Jewelry
These days, great demands am placed on display materials and packaging. They must be inexpensive, part of an integrated communication...
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Fair Trade Promises Luxury
Gold, silver, platinum and gem stones are increasingly getting a bad name. Environmental catastrophes, financing of criminal syndicates or warlords...
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Gem Production Update
Morgan Beard, the editor-in-chief of Colored Stone magazine examines the current world mining production of Ruby ' Sapphire, Emerald, Tanzanite,...
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Revolutionary PolishPlus Process
The revolutionary PolishPlus process with MiracleMedia is a new mass finishing technology developed by Peter Richardson of Aurum Plus Resource...
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Best Laid Business Plans
I love a good road trip. In fact, I love them so much that I have created categories for them....
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The Future of the Jewelry Industry in 2016
Editor's Note: This following is an excerpt from Looking Ahead, which appeared in the December 2015 issue of MJSA Journal....
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Celebrating a New Metals Order
Celebrating a New Metals Order
The theme of this year's SNAG conference, held in Cincinnati Ohio, "Celebrating a New Metals...
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World Mining Report 2005 – Eastern Europe
Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority of mining is still done by independent,...
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Make What You Love (you’ll sell more of it)
In this live seminar clip, Dr. David Weiman of MarketingJewelry.com explains why making what you love is so important for...
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The Future of American Crafts
American crafts are under-going self-examination. Expressed in countless ways, varying from anxiety to optimism, the observation that the field is...
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5 Tips to Improve Your Social Media Presence
Are you reminding the types of people who like your jewelry that you’re online, active, and open for business - ...
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The Art of Self Promotion
The art of self-promotion is less about celebrity than it is about perseverance. Breaking into print doesn't take a magic...
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Producing Semi-Fabricated Platinum Products
It is also vital to know the basic forms of semi-fabricated Platinum product that are generally available and how to...
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Revising Milled CAD/CAM Models
I have great respect for the capabilities of CAD/CAM technology, and Ive seen some absolutely amazing pieces generated by it....
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The Psychology of Slowness
For many years the name of Kenneth F. Bates has graced the covers of books on design, enameling and a...
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Embracing Your Inner Entrepreneur
I love beginnings. The beginning of each season, the beginning of a new project, and of course, the beginning of...
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The Check Is in the Mail
Pay your idea bank regularly to keep your business thriving
We have a goofy tradition in our family in...
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Fads and Fallacies: First Impressions
As trite as it might sound, we still form our opinions about people as a result of "first impressions." In...
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Subtle Form of Seduction
“It’s what’s inside that counts,” so the saying goes. However, the importance of packaging for watches and jewelry is often...
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Saving Money on Common Repairs
Every penny mattered-and that was in the 1980s when gold was $300 an ounce. These days, when $1,100 is the...
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4 Marketing Tips for Mobile Customers
Since the advent of the Information Age, the marketing landscape has undergone a radical transformation. Pre-internet, businesses used to be...
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Chain and Findings Forecast
Jewelry is truly the sum of its parts. And of those parts, chain and findings play especially important roles. In...
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1984 SNAG Conference Review
On the second day of the 1984 Society of North American Goldsmith's conference held in June in New York City,...
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Media Relations: Bridge to Potential Customers
If newspapers, magazines or even TV or radio stations ask jewelry designers for a press portfolio, many have no idea...
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Deficits in Jewelry Design Marketing
While firms in the US have busied themselves for decades with marketing goals and tasks, the topic was first taken...
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Discover New Customers
Consumers still want to buy and wear jewelry. You’re just going to have to leap to reach them. Confront the...
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1994 SNAG Conference
SNAG '94 was a patchwork of voices. The conference theme, "Transformations: Personal Artistic Evolution", was dedicated to the individual creative...
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Infiltrating Colombia’s Shady Emerald Mines
Money and Madness (1998) - Penetrating the shady world of Colombia's emerald dealers, we meet private armies and pistol-packing miners....
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How to Keep Your Business Flexible
Being move-ready is a desirable trait for every entrepreneur. Consumers change, markets change, and if we want to stay in...
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Ganoksin: Knowledge is There to be Shared
There are two camps among goldsmiths: On the one hand we have those who on no accounts want to pass...
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Express Yourself
Express Yourself
Ideology controls thought. All too often, we uncritically accept propositions as if they were true, and examine neither...
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M. Avigail Upin: Current Work Exhibition
M. Avigail Upin's carefully constructed work displays a cool and impeccable cleanness of style, with silver the dominant material. Her...
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The Future of the Jewelry Industry in 2015
No one has a crystal ball to predict the future, which can make business planning a challenge. To help make...
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How Story Telling Helps You Sell More of Your Jewelry
In this live seminar clip, Dr. David Weiman of MarketingJewelry.com explains why having a story about your jewelry is so...
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Dimensions: A Question of Space and Time
80 x 120 cm is the size of the sales space per product that finds its way from the ‘design:palette’...
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Keynote Speech
Years ago, I saw a neatly penciled graffiti on a bathroom wall proclaiming that 'The artists will save the world'....
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Activism and Advocacy
The Future Perfect: Activism and Advocacy was given as an oral presentation at “Celebrating a New Metals Order,” The 1993...
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Recent Sightings: Craft Identity
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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The Goldsmith & The Grape Exhibition
I thought this was a dazzling exhibition, even before I had a glass of wine. It was definitely a step...
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The Rush Job From Hell
In the jewelry business we all get rush jobs but I think this one may just get the prize for...
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The Use of Gold in Industrial Applications
The Use of Gold in Industrial ApplicationsA presentation by George Milling-Stanley of the World Gold Council.
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The Limbic System Part 4
A match made in heaven: platinum and diamonds. As humans, we are in the habit of blindly accepting our visual...
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Love’s Labors Lost
One of the things that unites practicing jewelers – especially those who given their lives over to the craft –...
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Christine Clark and Dennis Leudeman Exhibition
This exhibition of two sculptors at the Merritt Gallery constituted the first major showing of work by either artist. An...
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Successful e-Commerce Ventures
The ongoing debate over the necessity of e-commerce in the jewelry industry is coming to a close. From small shop...
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World Mining Report 2005
Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority of mining is still done by independent,...
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Turning Down a Project
There's nothing like landing a new client. Whether you're a large manufacturer or a bench jeweler in a home studio,...
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Making an Enamel Advertising Poster
Nested in the heart of downtown Cary, North Carolina, The Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival is a tradition steeped...
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4 Key Jewelry Trends 2015
Amid the holiday craziness that will be descending on the industry this month, it’s important to take time and give...
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Gallery Directors’ Role on Metalsmithing
In the world of fine art, galleries wield enormous power. Galleries such as Castelli, Knoedler and Marlborough, through the artists...
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Fools gold?
ABC News expose of the underbelly of the cash-for-gold business
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Recent Sightings: Quality Jewelry
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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Counterbalance
I have just returned from an eight month journey throughout Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, a large portion of which was...
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Metalsmith ’84 Fall: Health Hazards Q&A’s
Linda Weiss-Edwards provides a list of Onsite Consultation for Artists and Schools from each state in the United States in...
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Classic Designer Diamond Engagement Rings
Style expert, Mal Pearson, discusses the latest engagement ring trends in these stunning Sylvie Collection rings
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Selling Jewelry in a Tough Economy
Dr. David Weiman of MarketingJewelry.com explains the keys to selling more of your handcrafted jewelry when times are tough.
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Competition and Selling Handcrafted Jewelry
In this video, Dr. Weiman of MarketingJewelry.com discusses an article in the Crafts Report about competition and whether or not...
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The Case for Gold as a Practical Investment
The Case for Gold as a Practical InvestmentA presentation by George Milling-Stanley of the World Gold Council.
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When Production had a Good Name
In researching this project, Don Friedlcih and I would often encounter craftspeople – whose business clearly entailed making multiples of...
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New Palette for Fine Art Students
The College of Art, which is located in the heart of the capital city of India, is one of the...
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The Phoenix Arises
The Phoenix Arises
School days! The heavy responsibility of the sacred trust of making a positive difference in the lives...
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The Limbic System Part 3
Out of every 100 companies, 90 do not make it pas their 60th birthday and 40% of newly established companies...
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Recent Sightings: Harper’s Lecture
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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1983 Artpark Experience
About 30 miles north of Buffalo, New York, less than 10 miles downstream from Niagara Falls, is a unique facility...
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Studio Multiples/Portfolio
Studio Multiples/Portfolio
The works presented in this portfolio were selected through a challenging jurying process. Space constraints forced us to...
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Recent Sightings: Buzzwords
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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Recent Sightings: Fair in Baltimore
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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World Mining Report 2005 – Australia
Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority of mining is still done by independent,...
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Valentine’s Day Marketing
Dr. David Weiman of MarketingJewelry.com, an expert on the psychology of marketing and selling handcrafted jewelry, gives solid, sales-building tips...
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Promotional Items and Displaying Jewelry
These days, great diamonds are placed on display materials and packaging. They must be inexpensive, part of an integrated communication...
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Small Degree of Validity
Since the postwar emergence of contemporary metalsmithing and jewelry-making in North America there has generally been a distinction drawn between...
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Charge More for Your Jewelry
In this video, Dr. David Weiman of MarketingJewelry.com explains -- in just words! -- why you should charge more for...
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What Does a Recession Imply for the Gold Price?
What Does a Recession Imply for the Gold Price?
A presentation by Natalie Dempster of the World Gold Council.
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The Tactical Case For Gold
The Tactical Case For GoldA presentation by George Milling-Stanley of the World Gold Council.
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Where Jewelry Resides
When you were a child, did you also have a secret trove in which you collected your favorite things? Stones...
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Jewelry on the Net Opportunity or Debacle
Within just ten years of Internet history, the range of jewelry on offer on the Net has grown to a...
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Musings on the Future
Musings on the Future
Despite all the talk about the information super highway, this Internet thing started, for me, when...
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Recent Sightings: Crafts Culture
This article series from Metalsmith Magazine is named “Recent Sightings” where Bruce Metcalf talks about art, craftsmanship, design, the artists,...
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There Must Be a Pony (Remaining Optimistic in Tough Times)
I created this video to support all of the amazing jewelry makers I know who may be discouraged in a...
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Gold – The Supply Side
Gold - The Supply SideA presentation by George Milling-Stanley of the World Gold Council.
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