Jewellery Making Supplies Blog

Annealing is the process of heating a metal before being worked on, through which this is softened and made pliable. This process will allow you to shape the metal into the jewellery piece you want. You might need to repeat the process in case your metal work-hardens.

When annealing your metal will turn into an obviously darkener colour follow by blackening, a chemical process known as oxidizing. The heating process has to be continued throughout oxidizing until it reaches a red colour. This is known as “quenching” the metal (cooling it) and the colour will last for a few moments until the metal relaxes.

It is not possible to predict the exact moment a metal needs annealing and you will only learn the difference between a soft and hard state through practice. There are however a few basic tips that can help you:

• Remove protective plastic before annealing. This can sometimes be kept when performing various piercing applications;
• Sheet: When buying sheet, always assume that it will need annealing;
• Wire: it will be easier to decide whether 1-mm round wire is soft, however less easy when working with a 5-mm wire therefore always anneal thicker wire;
• Note pure 999.9 silver and 24-carat gold do not oxidise as they are intrinsically soft. They will only need annealing if extensive work has been performed;
• Perform your annealing with a soft flame by gently pushing it up the length of the metal rather than waving it from side to side;
• Ensure your metal is completely dry after quenching. This is essential as you do not want to rust the tools you work with. Check that your tools have no marks as they can be passed on to your metal.

Annealing thin wire: wrap it into a coil and tuck both ends back into the coil. This will prevent it from springing apart when heated. Place your coil on a soldering block and heat it will a soft flame. Keep moving the torch up the metal to avoid melting the wire. Turn the metal with a pair of insulated tweezers and anneal the coil on the other side.

Annealing thick wire: unlike with thin wire, you will have to support your metal when heating it. Place the metal on the soldering block. Use a soft flame until it turns red then move along the wire to complete the process. Let the metal cool for a few seconds then quench in water. You can bend your wire to fit the pickle. Leave it until it has turned white. After removing it from the pickle, rinse and dry and you are ready to work!

Annealing  silver sheet

• Cover your silver with a protective non-oxidizing powder. Keep the powder away from your soldered joints to avoid making the solder run;
• Remove the plastic coating from your silver wire and rub dry paper over both sides of your silver to remove the silver shine;
• In a saucer, form a thick paste by mixing powder and methylated spirit or water. Add a little more spirit or water to make it easy to paint over both sides of your metal;
• Place silver on a soldering block and heat it with a large soft flame. Like with wire, use the torch on your sheet until it has turned red and then move along the surface to complete.
• After cooling the metal place it in warm pickle for 5-10 minutes. This will remove the protective powder.

October is the month that most Retailers start to fill their shelves with Christmas fare. It seems impossibly early for most of us and is usually met with grumbles and groans of  ‘it’s too early!’The truth is that in the world of Retail it is never too early to kick start the most profitable period of the year.

Most large chain stores will plan their Christmas offers and promotions from 6 – 12 months in advance and whilst I’m not suggesting you go quite that far, a bit of forward planning will stand you in good stead for successful festive selling.

Plan your range around price points:  At Christmas time, all people with all budgets come out to spend, so if your work will allow, try to ensure you have good stocks of items at every price point. The high street retailers start low and gradually increase in steady increments; £4.99, £9.99, £14.99, £19.99, £24.99 etc etc.  You don’t need to be as rigid as this, but by having larger stocks of lower priced items you will guarantee more impulse buys from customers. You still need those show stopping, higher priced pieces; just don’t spend time making them at the expense of your ‘bread and butter’ items.

Organise your Display: Be it a window, a cabinet, a party table or even a shelf, your jewellery display must be organised to reflect not only your range but to showcase your price points. One infamous high street chain store always puts their low priced, high volume,  sellers at the front/left of the store so it is the first thing you see when you walk in. You should really work on a similar principle. Put your best sellers and more inexpensive items towards the front of the display. Make them easily accessible. If you can have some out on a counter top so customers can handle them – it makes a big difference. Selling from behind glass can be very difficult as it presents a barrier between the customer and the merchandise. People like to handle the goods, so do what you can to break down the barriers.

Plan your stock: This sounds like an obvious one, but make sure you don’t run out of your bestsellers! The chances are if you are selling, you will be short of time to make any more stock should you run short. Think about your sales over the past year and plan accordingly.

Record Sales Activity: It is vital to record every sale. It will provide you with vital information to use going forward, not only regarding popular styles but also patterns of customer behaviour.  I have found in the past that more careful shoppers will start earlier in the year and focus on the more inexpensive items. (These are usually women) Where as in the run up to Christmas Day, as people start to panic, the more expensive pieces will go as people think less about the price tag. (These are usually men).  Any insight into the minds of your customers will help you plan more strategically for the future to ensure maximum profitability.

Have plenty of packaging to hand:  Nothing seals a sale like a gorgeous gift box, especially at Christmas time. With the ranges available now there is really no excuse not to offer a box with every sale, so make sure you get your orders in early to avoid disappointment. Don’t leave it as an afterthought, instead make it a feature by using them in your displays. Let your customers know you have thought about the whole package not just the jewellery.

Christmas selling should be fun. It should really be your reward for hard work and careful planning throughout the year. Let’s be honest those gloomy months of January and February will be much easier to get through if you can look back on a successful Christmas period, so do yourself a favour and get prepared!