books...

[Joe]

I don't know... Oppi doesn't hold your hand but a capable beginner would find much inspiration in that book! I did!

I don't have Brepohl's book... obviously I've ordered it now! We should give a comparative review (in a new thread) in due course!

[Lucy]

I am with peter - not the most value for money books for a beginner - they are awsome, but probably not the first thing I would buy if money were tight and I was just starting out.

Lucy

[Dennis]

There is no doubt that Untracht is the jewelers’ bible. It was one of the first books I bought, but I have to confess it has done little for me except to add gravitas to my bookshelf.

Occasionally I dip into Tim McCreight, but for the sake of brevity he can raise more questions than he answers. His hard cover, spiral bound, Complete Metalsmith is a pig to open and close, so the air is blue with expletives when I do.

Peter and Joe are skilled in engineering, but if I were just beginning with little previous knowledge, I might prefer a book with simple projects as well as techniques, which would be less intimidating.
Dennis.

[Polly]

My first book and still my favourite is by Sylvia Wicks called Jewellery Making Manual, How to design and make your own jewellery. It looks a little dated, but the information is plenty and easy to understand. I still go back to it after I've read newer glossier books that don't quite describe things fully for me to understand. It has heaps of information from drawing designs for clients to fabricating and finishing jewellery - all sorts of stuff! This would be my recommendation!

[Dennis]

Yes it's a fine book and one of the few to describe spectacle and no-pressure settings. I would draw the line at making my own barrel catch for brooches though.
Strangely , no one seems to know who Sylvia Wicks is. She's as elusive as Ines De Castro. Dennis.

[Melanie De Castro Pugh]

Just got a copy of that for six quid all in from eBay, Sylvia Wicks, that is! Holiday reading sorted...

[ps_bond]

I recognise the name; I shall have to dig through my books to see if I own that one. I think it's the mention of spectacle setting that has triggered my half-remembering.

[Myosotis]

Sylvia Wicks was the main book we referred to at college c1990's - it looked quite dated then (all those 80's clothes and hair!) but it covers some stuff that some of the newer books don't mention. I still refer to mine from time to time. Also it's the only one I've seen that covers realistic design drawing