Joanne Varney gives her tips and ideas to help maximise your sales this Valentines. She holds a BA (Hons) in Jewellery and Silversmithing and is part of the Cooksongold Team.

Valentine’s Day is upon us and represents one of the few sales opportunities during the early part of the year. With jewellery being an obvious choice, here are a few ideas to help maximise your sales and to guide those uncertain male customers!!

‘Love Tokens’ –  Gift Vouchers are a great option for those who are uncertain of their partners taste, but can sometimes come across as a little lacking in imagination. However, dress a gift token into something a little more interesting e.g. ‘Love Token’, couple this idea with an attractive card and I think you will provide a useful option for many shoppers. After all, many people may know their partners favourite designer, but may not be able to choose one piece. This is the perfect solution.

Sales Incentives – Just because most of us run small scale operations doesn’t mean we can’t make use of some of the sales incentives used by the large companies. For example, try offering a free gift wrapping service. It’s surprising just how many customers (especially men) will take advantage of this, particularly those shopping at the last minute. Offer a free Valentine’s Day card with every sale in the 2 weeks prior to the big day. Again it’s taking the hassle out of shopping for people and saving them a trip to an overcrowded card shop. Yes it means a small outlay but this could be minimised by designing and printing the cards yourself. Finally a 10% discount off of the next purchase is always well received and brings customers back to you helping to build a relationship of trust.

Although Valentine’s Day is traditionally a day for proposing, most customers won’t be looking for rings. In fact many men would avoid buying them on principle in case their partner was to get the wrong idea!! For the most part it is preferable to steer customers in the direction of items which don’t need sizing. Earrings and pendants are fairly safe options, but offer a longer length chain. (You don’t want disgruntled ladies returning pendants because the chain was too short!)

Charms – Charms make a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for both men and women. They don’t need sizing, can be attached to bracelets or necklets and best of all they can reflect any occasion, hobby or interest you can possibly imagine. Hearts are an obvious and popular choice and can be simply made using either wire or sheet.  Add interest with different textures and finishes and hang together in groups of three with perhaps a Swarovski Heart crystal to create a great cost effective gift. They will work out more inexpensive than other branded alternatives and suit more customers’ pockets.

On that subject I would just like to reiterate a point that I’ve made in previous articles. Make sure you have items at a good range of price points, low to high, to suit all budgets.  Ensure your cheaper items are easy to get to so as not to put people off and perhaps most important of all, smile and try to encourage customers to be romantic!

And if for some reason you are not feeling the romance of the occasion, grit your teeth and pretend!!

Happy Valentine’s Day xx

Joanne Varney gives her tips on how to kick start a new range. She holds a BA (Hons) in Jewellery and Silversmithing and is part of the Cooksongold team.

The sky is dark, it’s pouring with rain and the wind is whistling down the chimney. It’s the start of a New Year and time to think about the months ahead and what you intend to achieve in them. If, like many others you are feeling a bit flat and uninspired after the retail buzz of Christmas, don’t despair.  Over the next few paragraphs I’m going to share with you a few tips I use to kick start my design ideas when inspiration is a little short in supply.

Ideas Book – Many of you probably keep one of these as standard but for those who don’t, this is simply a notebook or box where you can store your sources of inspiration as you find them. These can be in almost any form from magazine cuttings and photos to found objects such as leaves and stones.  It’s great to keep these items in one place so that when you’re ready you can quickly refer back to a previous idea and start to expand upon it in the form of a mood board or sketch book.

Colour – Colour can be a great starting point for a new range as it can be evocative of so many different things.  For example if you are drawn to cool blue tones, what images do they conjure up? Today, if I think of blue tones, I think of clear blue skies and warm seas which in turn lead on to soft fluid images of ripples, waves and clouds. By this point I am already thinking of smooth, rounded shapes in cool silver tones, so very quickly, as a jeweller, I have converted those initial thoughts into the beginnings of a new range. This of course is only a simple illustration of how to get started and in practise far more consideration and research would be given to each stage, but you can see how easily colour can be a terrific trigger for new design ideas.

Texture – Texture can very easily be transformed into fantastic pieces of jewellery once it has been captured in metal. This can be achieved relatively quickly by casting direct from the object using either PMC or plaster of paris and then wax to make a mould. (If you are lucky enough to own a rolling mill, varying textures can be rolled onto metal, providing the objects used won’t damage the rollers) I’ve had some fantastic results in the past using objects as mundane as household tin foil. Once crumpled up it takes on an interesting texture which I captured using molten wax. I then got the wax cast into metal which I cut into simple shapes to make a selection of pieces. I have also used stone and miniature tyres from a toy car both of which worked really well.

Form – Perhaps the most obvious source of inspiration, form can be taken from absolutely anywhere be it natural or manmade. Whether you choose a literal or abstract interpretation, the key to success is in how you bring that form together into a piece.  I have found that looking at things with a restricted or distorted view can bring some interesting results. For example, just by cutting a hole in a piece of paper and placing it over a drawing, you will be able to look at the image differently, perhaps picking up new details that might otherwise have been missed.  Distortion can also give some great results, try looking at objects through patterned glass or even through a mass of bubbles and you will soon have some fascinating new imagery to work with.

Working as a designer/maker can sometimes be a lonely and difficult experience especially when you’re stuck for ideas. Learning to become resourceful using the objects around you is a great skill to have and will help you through those inevitable periods when the designs just won’t come.

As inflation and unemployment figures hit new highs, Retailers are being forced to slash prices, innovate and adapt simply to stay in business. Those who are slow to react are paying the ultimate price as more stores go under day by day. As metal prices continue to remain high, the jewellery industry is suffering like everyone else. Gold is simply too expensive for most people’s pockets at the moment, even silver isn’t cheap, so as we look towards Christmas and into 2012, the biggest challenge facing designer/makers is going to be how to continue to offer quality, yet affordable jewellery.   To repeat my opening statement, the answer has to be, innovate and adapt.

Base metals and plated metals are rapidly increasing in popularity for obvious reasons. It’s all about the look you can achieve for less, but this doesn’t have to be restrictive, in fact quite the opposite.  In fact two trends tipped for 2012, Dark Nature and Vintage both lend themselves to Antique Style brass and gun metal finishes very easily. Look out for oxidised findings which will help you to achieve this look far more successfully than if you were to use highly polished, regular findings!

Colour picks for 2012 are as varied as ever depending on which source you happen to refer to. On the one hand you have the Trend Forecasting Agency TJF tipping emerald green, aqua blue and icy white, and then on the other you have Swarovski Gem Visions suggesting that fire reds and oranges are the way to go. The one constant theme that is coming up time and time again is monochrome i.e. black and white. Obvious you may think, but don’t overlook it. Whilst other colours will go in and out of fashion, black and white will remain a classic, so take advantage of this and ensure it’s always there as a colour option.

Two contrasting eras are being highlighted in fashion as being big for next year; the 1960s and the 1920s each bringing with it some extremely different features.  There is currently a film adaptation of the novel The Great Gatsby in production which brings with it images of flapper dresses, fringing and beading detail, decorative headbands, feathers, Jazz and Chanel. These subtle elements will be creeping into fashion at every level so be prepared if you can!

In stark contrast the 1960s styling is anything but subtle. Bright, bold colours, hard materials (plastics and PVC) and oversized geometric prints to name but a few. This ties in quite nicely with a Futuristic trend which references modern day icons such as Lady Ga Ga and Katy Perry. Two different styles you may think, but if you can picture Jane Fonda in the cult classic Barbarella and then imagine her side by side with Lady Ga Ga, are they really so different? Bold but affordable, low metal content but high impact – are these themes which can be incorporated into your ranges???

As I have said before Trends are something to be aware of, not laws which should be followed to the letter. At the end of the day, you know your style and that is also what your customers know, so never abandon that for the sake of a fashion trend. However, as things become ever more challenging in the Retail environment, it pays to stay one step ahead of the opposition. So don’t ignore what goes on in the world around you, but try to embrace it – it may just pay dividends!

When the supermarket shelves are brimming with Christmas goodies, your summer clothes all packed away in boxes and your thick winter coats are hanging up in the hallway again, then it’s time to start thinking about Christmas! About cosy winter evenings in front of the fire, about trees and gardens covered in a thick layer of snow … and snowball fights. All those who don’t want to wait any longer for the first snow to fall can get into the Christmas mood early by putting on this attractive combination made out of FIMO. The adorable snowmen and sparkling snowflakes are a real eye catcher – each one cuter than the next. Not only does this jewellery guarantee you an instant white Christmas, it also makes a superb present with a personal touch.

You will need:

• FIMO Effect Glitter White
• FIMO Effect Glitter Red
• FIMO Soft Tangerine
• FIMO Soft Black
• Ring Base
• Metal Shaped Cutters
• Bead Roller
• Modelling Tools
• Blade Set
• Acrylic Roller
• Gloss Varnish
• Oven Thermometer
• Paint Box
• 40cm finished chain
• Earring hooks
• Silver-coloured florist wire
• Pliers
• Glass, ceramic bowl or cup
• All-purpose Glue

Step 1

Basically, the snowman is made out of two different-sized balls. For the body, take the larger of the two balls (approx. 25 mm in diameter) and flatten it a little. Then, for the head, do the same with the smaller ball (approx. 15 mm in diameter), placing it so that it slightly overlaps the first one. Make a sausage approx. 5 mm in diameter for the arms and cut off two 1 cm long pieces.

Step 2

The snowman’s hanger is fixed in his hat. To make the hanger, take a piece of wire and shape it into a loop. Then, bend the ends to the sides to give it a good hold in the FIMO later. Next, using black FIMO, roll out an approx. 1 cm thick sausage and cut a 1 cm long piece off it. Make an indent in one side of the top hat.

Step 3

Now it’s time to give the snowman a broom. To do this, roll out a thin string of black FIMO. Cut a 3 cm long piece off it for the broomstick. Then shape the FIMO into an approx. 1.5 cm long, cone-shaped piece and, using the knife, make lots of fine grooves on it. Place it on the end of the broomstick. A final fine string of FIMO placed across the broomhead makes it look as though the bristles are being held together.

TIP: It’s best to harden the broom in the oven on its own first. This makes it easier to position on the snowman’s arm later and ensure that it keeps its shape.

Step 4

Now put the hat on the snowman. Then add the broom and the arms and press everything on firmly. Use small black balls for the eyes and buttons. The orange coloured carrot nose and mouth are made out of fine strings of FIMO. The scarf is made out of a sausage of FIMO. Flatten it a little, cut one end off straight and use the knife to fray it.

Step 5

To make the snowflakes, roll out an approx. 5 mm thick sheet of white glitter FIMO using the acrylic roller. Place one of the two small six-pointed stars on it and – just as if you were making biscuits – cut out a number of stars. Fill the ring base with white glitter FIMO and place one of the stars on it.

Step 6

Make a hole through the middle of the snowflakes using a straight piece of wire – this is for stringing them onto the necklace later. A tool for making a snowflake pattern can be made easily out of a piece of wire. To do so, take an approx. 10 cm long piece of florist wire and bend both ends at right angles as shown – one end about 2 cm in and the other end about 2-3 mm in. Press the ends onto the snowflake carefully to make the desired pattern.

Step 7

With the bead roller, it’s easy to make nice, uniform-shaped beads. To do so, roll the FIMO to form an approx. 1 cm thick sausage. Then cut approx. 1 cm wide pieces off it and shape them into balls in your hands. Place them in the bead roller and slide it back and forth a couple of times. This gives you perfectly shaped beads.

Step 8

Cut off approx. 10 cm of florist wire and use it to make a hole as close as possible to the middle of the beads. Turn the beads around and push the wire through the hole again from the opposite side. This is the best way to keep your beads in shape when making holes. Next, thread all of the beads onto the length of wire and hang this over a glass bowl. Place in the oven like this in order to avoid a denting of the beads.

Step 9

Harden the finished pieces in the oven for around 30 minutes at 110°C. After cooling, the snowflakes are given an extra treatment: To make the pattern stand out more, brush over the grooves with a thin layer of blue watercolour paint. Allow to dry for a moment and then remove any excess paint with a piece of kitchen roll. Leave to dry properly! Finish off by applying a thin coat of FIMO gloss varnish to all pieces. Now all that remains to be done is string the pieces onto the necklace and add the clasp and thread the earrings onto a piece of florist wire and fix onto the earring hooks. If necessary, you can stick the snowflake onto the ring base with glue. This will keep it stuck tight.

TIP: You can make the small, silver-coloured spacer beads yourself: To do so, use the bead roller to make small balls out of silver FIMO effect and then add a layer of silver coloured leaf metal. Make holes, harden and add a coat of gloss varnish – finished!

We really loved last night’s episode of Kirstie’s Handmade Britain especially her exploration of Silver Clay. This project allows you to make a similar painted leaf that featured on the programme so you can enjoy the rewarding experience of creating beautiful, delicate designs.

You will need:

Agate/metal burnisher or tumbler
polisher

Badger Balm

Clayshapers

Leaf

Paintbrush and cup of water

PMC3 6.3g silver

PMC3 Paste (1 Paste pot
covers approximately 3 leaves of 3cm square)

Rubber block

Sandpaper

Stainless steel brush

Snake roller

Straw

Torch and block to fire or Kiln

Work mat or Teflon

Step 1

Open your Paste pot and paint the reverse side of the leaf thoroughly. Leave to dry and repeat until you have built up 8 layers of paste. Leave the leaf to dry completely. Fire it using a kiln only- if using the Evenheat Pro-Set kiln fire on the preset PMC3 Slow Programme (600C/45mins). Once fired do not polish before attaching the bail.

Step 2

Use the snake roller to roll a coil. Press down on the coil to create a flat block. Wrap the flattened coil around a straw and leave to dry.

Step 3

Attach the bail to the back of the fired leaf using some paste. Allow to dry. Once dry gently remove the straw and refine your piece until you are happy with the finished look. If required you can create a long coil from the lump clay by using a snake roller. This can then be attached to the back of the leaf as shown in the image above to improve the look of the bail attachment. The bail can be torch fired onto the leaf. Simply heat until it glows orange and time for a minimum of 2 minutes or kiln fire using the PMC3 Fast programme (700C/10mins).

Step 4

Place the fired piece on a rubber block to support the leaf and use a stainless steel brush to polish. To achieve a high shine finish, continue using a burnisher or place in a tumbler polisher with mixed stainless steel shot and 1/3 teaspoon of tumbler soap.

Aftercare: Polish using silver polish and a soft cloth.

Tips – Choosing a leaf

Don’t use a leaf with a waxy or fleshy surface like holly or laurel as these have no texture

Do choose a leaf with good veins as these will show nicely on your finished piece. E.g. sage, ginko or geranium leaves.

Do choose a fresh leaf.

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!

Stone setting is a way of securely attaching stones into a piece of jewellery.  You can use various techniques to incorporate stones into your designs including: Claw, Gypsy, Bezel, Illusion, Pave, Channel, Tension and Grain. The stone’s shape and hardness dictate which type of setting technique is suitable.  Stones can add colour and a focal point to your design and helps your design attract customers’ attention!

Types of settings

1.  Claw settings: A small amount of metal is used to make up claw settings, allowing light to pass through the stone and also allows easy access to the stone for cleaning. Claw settings are made up of prongs. The prongs are bent over the stone to secure in place.

2. Gypsy settings: are done by using the surrounding metal to set a stone. which makes the stone appear flush within the piece of jewellery.

3. Bezel settings: or rub-over settings require a tight wall of metal around the stone. It sits on a ledge of wire or a sheet of metal at the base. Creating a wall and pushing it against the stone.

4. Illusion settings: are used to visually exaggerate the appearance of a small stone. This is done by a stone being set into a collet with a large wall.

5. Pave settings: the word pave originates from the French meaning paved.  Pave setting uses small stones to cover the surface of a piece of jewellery. Tiny beads of metal are pulled up from the surface and are pushed up over stone.

6.  Channel settings: are usually used in lines. Stones that are channel set are supported on two sides and underneath. The two sides are pushed down to tighten the stone in place.

7. Tension settings: use the metal surrounding it to secure stone in place. It requires tension through the metal to support the stone. A tension setting allows light to pass through it and show its full beauty.

8. Grain settings: consist of small stones in lines. Tiny beads or grains of metal are pulled up from surface and are pushed up over the stone.

Bezel Setting on a Pendant

You will need:

Tools:

• Texturing Hammer, Wide Stripe
• Half Round File and Handle
• Flat Stake
• Emery Paper
• Emery Stick Flat, Medium
  
• Dividers
  
• 6″ Steel Ruler
• 3″ Adjustable Saw Frame
• Saw Blades 3/0
• Soldering Block
• Hand Torch
• Pickling Powder
• Borax Cone and Borax Dish
• Flux Brush
• Shears and Stainless Steel Tweezers
• Triblet
• Square ended pusher
• Burnisher

Materials

• 1mm Silver Sheet (15mm x 40mm and 12mm x 50mm)
• 20mm of 0.3mm x 3mm Fine Silver Strip
• Solder Strip
• 3mm Moonstone Round Cabochon
• Silver Snake chain

STEP 1

Take the 12mm x 50mm Silver, the texturing hammer and the flat stake. Place your silver sheet onto the flat stake, hold one edge of the silver sheet, use the texturing hammer strike the sheet numerous times in one direction, turn the silver sheet and repeat on opposite end.

STEP 2

Using a half round file, use flat edge and file the edges straight and using Emery sticks buff the edges to become smoother.

STEP 3

Using Dividers measure 42mm on steel ruler and score a line width ways in the textured sheet. Saw pierce along this line. The textured sheet will have become hard as it has been worked on, it is ready to anneal, quench and pickle. To create a curve, push the non – textured edge against a large curve of your choice. If you have bangle mandrel this would work perfectly.

STEP 4

Place curved edge against 15mm x 40mm piece, approximately the same length. Take a sheet of course emery paper and rub edges down until flat and sit flush onto the larger piece of sheet.

STEP 5

Using borax cone and dish make up flux and with a flux brush dab flux on sheet and the just buffed edge, then place the curved piece of sheet onto one side of silver sheet. Then with shears snip two small pallions of hard solder and place on the fluxed join.

STEP 6

Using hand torch gently apply heat, gradually increasing until it is hot enough and the solder flows. Then quench & pickle.  Repeat on the opposite end, again using hard solder. Quench and pickle.

Tip:  When using more than three solder joins, use hard solder as many times as possible!

STEP 7

To make the bezel, wrap the strip around the stone, letting it strip overlap, once you have the correct shape remove the stone. Where the strip overlaps saw pierce or cut with end cutters and make sure the two ends are flush with no gaps. Flux the join of the bezel; place a small pallion of hard solder on the join with tweezers. Apply heat gently and evenly to the bezel until the solder flows remove flame. Quench and pickle.

STEP 8

Place bezel onto triblet or use round nose pliers and tap with a mallet to get true circle.  Check the stone fits at this stage, if bezel is too large saw pierce down the solder line, if the stone still does not fit file the ends. The bezel strip will be higher than the stone, to reduce the height rub the base against course emery paper. The height of the bezel needs to be approximately level with the beginning of the curve of stone.

STEP 9

Place the bezel on right hand corner of your piece. Flux and add medium solder pallions around the outside of bezel. Solder on wire mesh and soldering block. Apply heat evenly starting gently and gradually increase until the solder flows. Quench and pickle.

Tip: A wire mesh is advisable so the heat can be spread evenly through the piece; this will also prevent the bezel overheating and maybe melting! Using remaining textured sheet curve over triblet or using round nosed pliers and this will make your loop for necklace.

STEP 10

Rub edges on emery paper until flush. Flux loop and centre of piece. Place together. Using shears cut pallions of easy silver solder and place two pallions either side. Heat gently and gradually increase until solder flows. Quench and pickle. Clean up piece going through grades of emery paper leaving a matt finish.

Tip: Use oxidizing solution on the textured strip of the pendant and polish raised areas to enhance the appearance of the texture.

STEP 11

To set the stone, try to gain as much grip as possible. Using a flat bezel pusher, push one part of the bezel wall against the stone. Push in at points ‘north’, ‘south’, ‘east’ and ‘west’. This is to avoid a build up of metal. Push in between these points and continue to do this around the stone. Bringing the pusher up to a higher angle, and apply pressure against the middle and top edges of the bezel. Use a burnisher rib for the top edge to get rid of sharp edges and brighten the silver.

.

STEP 13

Now hook the silver snake chain through the loop. You have finished the project!

Bending metal is one of the basic jewellery techniques which every jeweller comes across in the designing process. Mastering this technique is crucial in order to avoid damaging your piece’s surface.  Before setting to use this technique, acquaint yourself with the following tools:

1. Mallets

If you are looking to bend your metal without marking it, make use of mallets – nylon and rawhide are very suitable. Mallets are flat shaped and used in forming ring shanks and bangles.

How to make a ring shank

To shape your metal into a wire or band rings use a mandrel and a mallet. Use a vice to secure the mandrel and place your metal horizontally across it – a third of the way up the vice’s end. It is easier to start bending the metal to a smaller diameter than needed as it is easier to extend the diameter than to decrease its size. Use the mallet to hit the wire where it stops making contact with the mandrel. This will curve the wire. Continue this by moving the wire forward across the mandrel and remember to always keep the straight portion horizontally. Bend a third of the length and turn the piece around to bend the other end.

To adjust the form, place your piece on a wooden surface and tap with the mallet. Solder your piece before adjusting it into a perfectly round ring shape.

2. Hammers

Steel hammers can be used in a similar way to bend your metal and make the process a lot quicker than mallets. They will however stretch your design and make it thinner. Unless you are using a texturing hammer, using a hammer to bend your metal will leave marks that need to be removed.

3. Triblets, mandrels and stakes

These are tools that will also help you shape your metal. They are usually made from steel, but you will also find wood and nylon tools.

Note: keeping these tools in a good condition is essential to avoid damaging your metal.

DO regularly anneal and clean the entire surface of the metal that you are working on.

DO NOT: use a stake that has been hit with a steel hammer as this will mark it. The mark will be transferred onto your metal.

Use water or acid on steel tools as they can be easily damaged and repairing this is an extensive process.

4. Pliers

These are used for bending wire, strips and sheet metal and holding small items you are working with. There are a few types of pliers, which will help you fulfil different tasks. Use your pliers carefully as they can easily damage soft metals. By using nylon jaw pliers you can decrease the change of this happening; or simply wrap masking tape around your pliers’ jaws.

Depending on what you are trying to achieve you will also need: round-nose, flat-nose and parallel pliers. They will help you give different shapes to your metal, adjust shapes or straighten and increase curves. Parallel pliers are particularly useful when making fine adjustments to forms (e.g. bending angles) but most type of pliers will provide good leverage.

For thick wire use a mallet. It is difficult to bend using pliers without causing damage even if the wire has been annealed beforehand.

If at the end you are not completely satisfied with your forming, you can flatten and straighten your material and start again. For best results, you should anneal your pieces. In order to do this, a rawhide mallet should be used on a steel surface and any textured surfaces should be protected with masking tape.

With the convex curve uppermost, you need to place the metal on the block. You then need to mallet inwards from the edges, continuing to do so until the sheet is flat again and repeat if required. In some cases,you will need to pass the sheet through the rolling mill several times.

Annealed wire can be straightened between two flat steel plates, or tapped with a mallet. If your wire is lengthy, use a vice and pull hard on the end with pliers or use draw plates.

 Most types of jewellery require at least one movable joint, therefore it is a vital part of a piece and should be considered during the designing stages. You need to think about the type of movement you require, specific to the design.

Types of Joining Links 

•  Rivets: A rivet has the ability to hold pieces together without solder. You need to push your small piece of wire through similar holes in two or three separate pieces.
• Screws: A special “tap and die” set, designed for jewellers, allows small wire and tubes to be used to make screws that are in proportion of the piece. The size of the wire you are going to tap should be larger than the inside diameter of the tube, but smaller than the outside.
• Hooks: A hook can be used to fasten a chain or necklace or even to hang additional pieces from which prevents these pieces unhooking themselves when being worn. This type of joining method enables the piece to be more versatile, for example you might want to add a pendant to a simple chain but on some occasions just have the chain on its own.
• Hinges: Used to join two pieces which can then be moved without losing the integral line. On each edge, alternate your pieces of tube and solder them. Ensure wire passes through all the tube sections.

Joining Tips

1. Practice: When you are making joining links for your new design, we would recommend making a couple of mock-ups first. These can be made using paper, card, modelling clay etc. You should choose a material that mirrors the behaviour of the metal you intend to use.
2. Experiment: The most common joining links are having holes and jump rings. Try and make your piece stand out from the rest with an innovative joining method!
3. Strong Links: You need to ensure that the wire you are going to use for a jump ring is strong enough for your piece. The circle will distort if this is too light for the weight of the chain/necklace.
4. Solder your jump rings: To make your jump rings look neater, you might want to solder them. You will only need a small amount of solder, as long as you ensure the join is really tight. Large pieces of solder might form a lump, which will need to be filed down.