Jewellery Making Supplies Blog

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Why not combine a visit to the Cookson Trade Counter with a visit to the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter.

The Museum has a preserved jewellery workshop offering a unique glimpse of working life in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter. For more than eighty years Smith and Pepper produced jewellery from this workshop, founded in 1899. Explore this extraordinary industrial time capsule on a lively guided tour. Here you will find things left as they were on Smith and Pepper’s last working day.

The museum tells the story of jewellery making in Birmingham. The Jewellery Quarter gained its distinctive identity in the 19th century when Birmingham was known as the ‘Workshop of the World’. Today the city is still very much at the forefront of jewellery manufacture in Britain.

You can get a feel for this great industrial past and modern  jewellery trade as you wander through the Quarter’s tight-knit street, lined with jewellery shops, makers’ workshops and distinctive historic factories.

 

The Jewellery Quarter Museum

How to find the museum:

Telephone: 0121 554 3598

Admission is FREE!

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Last year we introduced Precious Metal Clay (PMC), and we had a great response to the range. Designers loved PMC’s flexibility, giving them the ability to create unique designs using a new material. Throughout 2008 we had many requests to stock Art Clay Silver, so we are now pleased to be offering both ranges!

As part of the launch, this week we thought we should focus on these two great products and outline what metal clay is, how it works and the main differences between PMC & Art Clay.

Precious Metal Clay

Metal clays allow jewellers to work with a material that is as malleable as ordinary modelling clay but produces fine (almost pure) silver jewellery of exquisite intricacy and beauty. Once polished it has a lustre and shine that is easily comparable to cast silver and because of the development of the products over the last few years shrinkage is now no longer an issue. The type used depends on personal preference as both types have their advantages, but incorporating metal clays into your jewellery design gives you a new medium to explore with beautiful results.

What is Metal Clay?

Metal clay is a suspension of tiny particles of metal in a clay binder, which can be used to make jewellery, beads and small findings. The beauty of metal clay is that it can be manipulated in the same way as any modelling clay, but once fired the binding agents are burnt off leaving the metal form intact. Although there is a certain amount of shrinkage (between 10-15% for the more modern versions), very fine detail can be achieved, including impressions that would require casting in any other method of metalwork.

Precious Metal Clay (PMC)

Silver metal clay results in objects containing almost pure silver (also known as fine silver) which is ideal for enamelling. There are two popular brands available – Precious Metal Clay (also known as PMC) and Art Clay Silver (ACS). Precious Metal Clay was developed in the early 1990’s in Japan and consists of microscopic particles of pure silver (or fine gold powder) and a water-soluble binder which burns off during firing. The original formula of PMC (now called ‘Standard’) has to be fired in a kiln at a temperature of 898°C/650F and has a high shrinkage rate of around 30%. Two additional versions were later developed called PMC+, which can be fired at 810°C/1490F and PMC3, which can be fired at temperatures as low as 593°C/1100F. Both of these later versions of PMC have much lower shrinkage rates, allowing much finer detail to be worked into designs.

Art Clay Silver

Art Clay Silver (ACS) was also developed in Japan and is similar in consistency to PMC+. The main difference with Art Clay is that it is more suited to be fired using a hand-held torch or gas oven. Because of subtle differences in the binder components and the longer firing times, Art Clay Silver benefited from having a considerably lower shrinkage percentage – only 8-10%. This means that ACS can be worked in more detail without any loss of definition in fine work. Art Clay Slow Dry was introduced soon after, which has a much longer working time before requiring firing, allowing intricate work to be moulded into the clay with no loss of malleability.

NEW Art Clay

Art Clay 650 and Art Clay 650 Slow Dry are now becoming increasingly popular, as not only do they have a longer working time but can be fired at temperatures as low as 650°C/1200F. This allows jewellers to incorporate glass and Sterling Silver into the designs without fear of damaging the components. The manufacturers of ACS have also introduced Oil Paste, a product only used on fired metal clay or milled fine silver, and Overlay Paste which is designed for drawing designs onto glass and porcelain. These two products have allowed the use of metal clay products to be incorporated into a whole new range of designs and mediums, expanding the potential of this product.

Metal clays allow jewellers to work with a material that is as malleable as ordinary modelling clay but produces fine (almost pure) silver jewellery of exquisite intricacy and beauty. Once polished it has a lustre and shine that is easily comparable to cast silver and because of the development of the products over the last few years shrinkage is now no longer an issue. The type used depends on personal preference as both types have their advantages, but incorporating metal clays into your jewellery design gives you a new medium to explore with beautiful results.

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With so many projects and often so little time, keeping my workshop tidy is always a challenge. When designing, my aim is always to have a clear working space, with everything close at hand. Both tools and materials should ideally be kept within arms reach.  However, I don’t always follow my own sound advice, and realistically, most of my basic jewellers tools - pliers, files, cutters, torch, etc – are always left out on the bench. When all these tools are combined with all those exciting bits (that I leave out ‘just in case’ or for inspiration), such as findings, coloured beads, bits of wire, sheet and solder, that’s when I get into real problems! 

So, with the saying ‘Tidy desk tidy mind’  firmly in my thoughts, and spurred on by the launch of our new storage range, I decided to spring clean my workshop! I started by organising my tools, using a pliers stand for hand tools – ensuring that blades/jaws are kept away from each other (this also lengthens the life of tools). I moved all my reels of wire onto a workstation that allows me to dispense them easily, plus creating a dedicated area for soldering; with my soldering torch, block, Borax cone & dish all in one area.

 

Click here for NEW Storage

Then onto the BIG task: organising my jewellery findings, settings, and stock of sheet & wire. The bullion element was relatively easy, just ensuring that my 9ct sheet is kept separate from 18ct sheet, easily achievable with some simple drawers. However, organising components was unfortunately a much bigger job! I am forever being frustrated by having mixed sizes, colours, types of findings – or the worst case scenario – mixing up silver findings with carat gold findings!  I used a variety of simple containers, and plastic bags to organise my components. These simple, and thankfully cheap containers are all clear – so I could easily see the pieces, had tight fitting or locking lids – so no danger of losing any, and many of them conveniently stack together to save space.

Click here for NEW Containers

Click here for beads

Beads are commonly made from Sterling silver which is a silver alloy made up of 7.5% copper, 92.5% silver.  Pure silver is designated as 99.9% pure, but this purity tends to make the metal very soft. In jewellery applications, this can mean that delicate work is easily damaged or broken through the slightest of knocks. Adding another base metal to the silver gives it greater durability and strength. Sterling silver has this additional alloy and is only 92.5% silver.

Silver beads are used in almost every type of jewellery, from simple necklaces to modern body jewellery. A silver necklace carries with it an air of sophistication and elegance, particularly if the silver beads are offset with other precious or semi-precious stones or pearls.

Necklaces are not the only use of silver beads in jewellery. Because of the huge range of designs available, they can be used in earrings, bracelets and cufflinks to match a simple but stylish necklace. Silver beads can also be incorporated into all kinds of applications, such as embroidering onto clothing or bags, eveningwear or shoes. Designers across the world continue to be captivated by the myriad of uses that silver beads have in fashion and couture, with the top design houses often including beading in their collections.

Semi-precious stones

Silver has the advantage of being the ‘black’ of jewellery in fashion terms – it goes with practically anything. A delicate, silver bead necklace can casually compliment a simple outfit of jeans and tee shirt. That same necklace can be worn with a cocktail dress with equal flair and finesse. A handful of silver beads, a well-thought out design and a little bit of patience can produce something that is unique and timeless. The best way to begin to incorporate silver beads into your jewellery making is to buy a small selection and let your imagination loose. The results will be uniquely yours and always a favourite part of your jewellery collection, no matter what the occasion

Satisfactory soldered joints in precious metal articles must be strong yet unobtrusive. The basic principles of soldering practice must be applied to ensure strong consistent joints along with the following points:

(i) The design must lend itself to soldering.

(ii) The parts to be soldered must fit closely and accurately.

(iii) The correct solder and flux must be used.

Soldering

Gas and compressed air mixtures are generally the most satisfactory for torch soldering. Fine adjustment of flame size and temperature are possible.The flame should be kept constantly on the move over the whole joint area or over as wide an area as can be conveniently joined in a single application of solder.

Joint Preparation
The joint areas must be free form dirt and grease and ideally cleaned with a file or emery paper to ensure the solder will wet the parent metal. Flux should be applied to the joint area and solder prior to heating. Fluxes promote wetting of the workpiece by the molten solder. They do this by removing any oxide films present on both the parent metal and solder and prevent further formation of oxides during heating.The flux must be completely fluid and active before solder liquidation and should remain so until after the solder solidification. If the size of the joint or the duration of heating is large further flux additions may be made during the process. It must be noted that warming of the workpiece may be required to ensure full retention of the flux paste over the whole joint area. The torch should initially be held some distance from the workpiece so that the flame heats the work generally. If components of different size are being joined the torch should predominantly heat the heavier item.

Techniques

There are two general techniques used to apply solid solder: 

(i) Preplacement; small pieces of solder are placed at the joint seam prior to heating. Heat is then applied until the solder flows into the joint.
(ii) Feeding; the fluxed joint is heated to temperature and tip of the solder wire is fed into the joint and should melt on contact.

Using both these techniques the part of the joint to which the molten solder is required should be heated more strongly than the remainder ensuring the solder will flow towards the hottest section. Continued flame impingement on the molten solder may result in the vaporisation of lower melting point constituents, higher temperatures may then be required to complete the joint. The time and temperature to complete a joint must be kept to a minimum. 

Solder Strip, Paste, Syringe and Wire

Gold and silver flux residues may normally be removed by soaking in hot water. Any further residues that persist may then be removed by brushing. In difficult cases the workpiece should be immersed in 5 – 10% sulphuric acid solution for 2 – 5 minutes, rinsed in hot water and brushed again.  For large scale soldering a small furnace may be used to provide sufficient uniform heat to the workpiece. For mass production batch or conveyer type furnaces may be used. However, the quantities of components to be soldered must be large enough to justify the relatively high capital expenditure and development of a method for each particular soldering operation.

All workpieces can be successfully finished by the standard practices and processes currently available. It must be noted that powdered borax does not always meet the requirements for all applications where the extensive range of solders now available may be used.

Which Solder to use – Gold, Silver and (particularly) Platinum
Solders are typically classified according to their melting points – “easy”, “medium” and “hard” therefore refers to the ease of melting the solder. Hence an “easy” solder melts before a “hard” one and this can be used where a sequence of joints are to be made. Usually a solder must conform to the same hallmarking rules as the metal being joined – for example, a 9ct solder must contain at least 371⁄2% gold. However, there are some concessions, which are: – Platinum solders must contain at least 95% precious metals by weight, chosen from silver, gold, platinum, palladium, iridium and osmium. There is no minimum platinum content specified. – Solders for white golds may be Hallmarked on concession down to 50% gold content. – 22ct solder must contain at least 80% gold.

This week the designers of Cookson look at the essential hand tools required for those starting jewellery making.

Essential Jewellers Tools

Body

Perhaps the most important decision jewellers have to make when starting is the selection of there first set of jewellery making tools – the backbone to their trade.  The basic hand tools needed for Jewellery making have not changed in decades and Cookson provides a full range of Jewellery tools, covering every thing detailed in this article. Everything from basic hand tools, pre packed tool kits, consumables, larger machinery right through to the professional jewellers bench.

A place to work

A jewellers workshop requires only a small area – a spare room is ideal, but it is essential that it is well lit, and has good ventilation. Professional jewellers usually invest in study purpose built workbench, however a normal working desk or work top can be adapted, simply by adding a G clamp bench vice or anvil. The Jewellers Peg/pin can then be held in place securely giving a simple, yet study place to work. 

Hand tool essentials

The range of jewellers tools to choose from can initially be overwhelming, however once the basics are in place, additional tools can be added as the jewellers skill improves or their projects demand.  

Saws (frames and blades) allow the jeweller to make small and intricate cuts. Frames are either fixed or adjustable.  Selecting which grade of saw blade you require is key, the most popular is grade 2/0 which is relatively fine but is still robust, where as grade 6/0 is used for very fine work but is less robust. 

Hand drills are less used with the prevalence of powered pendant or hobby drills. However the more traditional hand drill, Archimedes or Bow drill still provides a simple & effect way of drill holes.

Files are essential for removing excess material, with the different sizes available for working large areas or at a more intricate level. To start with buy a selection of shapes containing round, square, triangular, half round and warding.  Plus consider the cut ranging from 0 the coarsest, to 6 the finest. For cleaning up your piece after filing or soldering, jewellers tend to use sand paper, emery sticks, or wet & dry paper with a range of grades allowing them to achieve different finishing effects.

Polishing your piece is essential but again a few selected tools & polishing compounds will allow you to achieve good initial results.  Polishing sticks (made of felt or leather) when combined with compounds such as Tripoli or rouge will help create a polished finished looking piece.

Pliers allow jewellers to tackle most jobs and work with a wide variety of materials, and are particular useful in wirework.  They allow the jeweller to hold, form and shape and it is essential that you have snipe nose, flat, round nosed pliers in your tool box.

Ensuring accuracy in finely detailed work is essential in jewellery making, but marking and measuring tools are often overlooked. Investing in a metal rule, a set of good vernier calipers plus a scriber and punch ensure you can mark and measure accurately and easily.

Jewellery Making

Although this list is not exhaustive, these tools will ensure that a jeweller will have the basic tools to start their first project.  But as jewellery making is such a wide subject very quickly other equipment will be required.. The next step will invariable mean that a  heat source is required – such as a hand torch complete with soldering block.  As the metal is worked you will need forming equipment – hammers and mandrels, plus as the jewellers skills develop they will have a need for improved and quicker finishing, requiring  will mean the introduction of a polishing motor & mops. All this combined with a wider range of other hand tools and other equipment such as files, tweezers, glues, setting & soldering equipment.

In this weeks article our jewellery experts have been taking a look into the role of gemstones in jewellery making as well as providing some great tips for how to use them in a bid to make your pieces both unique and stylish. Please feel free to post a comment or ask one of our experts a question.

Jewellery making is an art form, and the incorporation of gemstones into jewellery goes back thousands of years. But gemstones don’t necessarily mean top end diamonds or rubies – there are a whole range of semi precious gemstones that can be used by jewellery makers for very little initial cost.

Add some razzle to your dazzle!

Suppliers of gemstones recognise that their products can be used in any form of jewellery, from rings to broaches, necklaces to earrings. The possibilities are only limited by the creator’s imagination. There are so many shapes and sizes to choose from, it may be a little daunting at first glance, but if you plan your piece of jewellery carefully, there is bound to be a gemstone to fit.

The first thing to do is to decide exactly what kind of piece you want to create. Once you have decided on that, you can then narrow your field of choice down regarding shape and size. If you are making a broach with a gemstone in a setting, a cabochon of any precious or semi-precious gemstone can easily be fitted into a corresponding blank mounting. A popular combination is silver and turquoise, giving a beautiful finish for a budget price.

Most silver and gold findings can be bought from jewellery suppliers. Good suppliers will also carry a range of gemstones that are designed to fit their selection of mountings. To use gemstones in your jewellery making, you need only a few simple tools and a lot of imagination. If you’re really serious about gemstones, talk to your gemstone dealer about special cuts and minerals. If you are intending to produce a quantity of gemstone jewellery, the initial outlay of equipment will soon pay dividends, as the uncut gemstones are far cheaper than the cut ones.

Semi-precious gemstones can also be bought as beads, combined with delicate silver spacers and created into beautiful, elegant jewellery.

Creating stylish and unique jewellery is far easier than you think. By incorporating gemstones into your designs, you can even make birthstone-specific jewellery for a particularly individual gift. Each zodiac sign has corresponding gemstones, most of which are relatively common and fairly cheap. Even the more expensive stones, such as emeralds and sapphires, can be cheaper than you expected, especially if you choose a stone that is perhaps of a lower quality, but has its own raw beauty. The important thing to remember when venturing into the world of gemstones is to research before you buy new stones, as each stone has its own unique properties.

Gemstones never go out of fashion, so take a look around jewellery fairs to pick up inspiration and ideas for your own work, and in no time you’ll be adding your own, unique gemstone designs into your jewellery making.

Add some razzle to your dazzle!