Silver clay is made up of fine silver particles, or powder, combined with an organic binder and, at face value, will have a similar look and feel as your standard porcelain clay. However, when you do open a packet of your chosen silver clay, you will immediately notice the weight difference. This is due to the amount of silver inside of it, making it heavier.
The clay can be moulded, rolled, textured, filed and sculpted, making it a very versatile product to make silver jewellery out of. Once you have created your piece out of silver clay, this will then need to be left to dry for 24 hours to ensure there is no moisture left in it before it is fired. You can fire your silver clay using a blow torch or a kiln. Be sure to follow the instructions on the packet of your chosen silver clay on how to fire it using you’re a blow torch or kiln and have the correct safety equipment needed. Firing silver clay burns off the organic binder, leaving behind a fully sintered together, solid piece of silver.
This simple and rewarding technique can help you become really skilled at making precious metal jewellery.
Head over to our website for more information about getting started with silver clay.
Sian Brown
Sian has been hand making her award winning jewellery in the West Midlands for over 12 years. Sian spent 10 years in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter before relocating to a quiet Worcestershire village.