[Ganoksin] [Issue #98] Tips From The Jeweler's Bench

The Ganoksin Project S i n c e 1 9 9 6 Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Techniques

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------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ganoksin is run by a group of people who believe in and love what they're doing. If you enjoy our efforts, then please feel free to show your support! Put an Orchid On Your Bench.... Purchase the official Orchid Pin

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------------------------------------------------------------------------- In This Edition:

  1. Tool Junkies 2. Virtual Inventory, Real Sales - Reinventing retail with CAD 3. Soumak as a Metal Technique 4. Introduction to Basic Concrete Jewelry 5. Advanced Etching of Copper, Brass and bronze 6. Multi-Metal Lamination - aka Metal Overlay 7. Bur with Safe Edge Tool 8. The Work of Darcy Miro 9. Matter into Metaphor - Transformation in Asian and Western Metals 10. The Cutting Edge - Machine cut Gemstones

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1st Annual New England Full Day Orchid Celebration

Come join us for a day at the First Annual New England Orchid Celebration!

This will be a relaxing, educational and fun event. Organizers Suzanne Wade and Karen Christians will host a day of jewelry demonstrations, followed by cocktails and BBQ.

The day begins at 9am with a continental breakfast. Demonstrations will start at 10am. There will be three demos in the morning and three in the afternoon of jewelry techniques. Suzanne and Karen are also pleased to announce that Hanuman and Ton will be there to meet you.

When: Saturday, June 26th Where: Metalwerx, 50 Guinan St., Waltham, MA Tel: 781 891 3855

Read More:

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------------------------------------------------------------------------- Put an Orchid on your Bench Join the most popular online community for jewelers, The Orchid forums at
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------------------------------------------------------------------------- In This Edition of Tips From The Jeweler's Bench
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  1. Tool Junkies

What you should be is excited to read this article and see what others just like you have to say about their favorite bench tools. So you have a passion for hardware - loving tools is not a crime!

Complete Story:

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  1. Virtual Inventory, Real Sales - Reinventing retail with CAD

Greg Stopka of JewelSmiths in Pleasant Hill , California , has been in the jewelry business since he was eight years old. Through the years he has developed strong sales and presentation skills. But when he was introduced to CAD (computer-aided design) seven years ago, he found a tool that could communicate design possibilities so powerfully that he reinvented his business to take advantage of its sales potential....

Complete Story:

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  1. Soumak as a Metal Technique

Soumak is a textile technique which is commonly found in the weaving of rugs in the Middle East. The technique has been around for a couple of thousand years and primarily has been used in cloth. As I learned various techniques of weaving in gold and silver, I adopted soumak as my most successful m ethod for creating or enhancing my designs. Some of my creations are totally woven wire, with very little stone work, and others are integrating the weaving with the placement and setting of gemstones....

Complete Story:

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  1. Introduction to Basic Concrete Jewelry

Concrete is a wonderful, hard, neutral, unprecious material with a real presence. And it can be successfully adapted to jewellery. This is an introduction to basic processes and materials. Uncured concrete is difficult to handle. It usually needs some kind of form or structure to control the shape. This leads to three completely different fabrication methods....

Complete Story:

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  1. Advanced Etching of Copper, Brass and bronze

This method of etching uses a prepared ferric chloride solution which also contains hydrochloric acid. This 'etchant' is not a pure acid, but etches copper and copper alloys (like brass and bronze). It will not work on silver. It is available from electronics supply shops, such as Radio Shack or fr om chemical suppliers. It is generally used to clean or etch copper circuit boards. It can also be found at some printmakers' supply stores....

Complete Story:

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  1. Multi-Metal Lamination - aka Metal Overlay

Multi-metal Lamination is a type of 'faux' married metal which produces a freer, more 'painterly' effect than the hard-edge, highly graphic, married metal. It is a technique in which designs may appear to float over other shapes and patterns. MML may be used in a figurative way or to produce over-a ll pattern. MML is achieved by layering patterns of different coloured metals on top of a thick base plate. The patterns are soldered onto the surface, and then compressed by passing through a rolling mill. The resulting illusion is of a single piece of metal with patterns of different coloured me tals 'inlaid' into the surface.....

Complete Story:

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  1. Bur with Safe Edge Tool

Here's a nice little tool that makes use of an old setting bur. If you take the bottom teeth off a setting bur and polish the surface, you will have a tool that allows you to get right up next to the wall of a bezel and work on it without harming the metal on the bottom of the piece.....

Complete Story:

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  1. The Work of Darcy Miro

Artist Darcy Mire takes the term 'precious jewelry' and turns it on its head. Her careworn cuffs, rings, and neckpieces, most constructed of sterling silver or 18-karat gold, are more wearable sculpture than status symbol; they seem almost embarrassed to be valuable. An occasional shy diamond, garn et, or sapphire peeks from beneath a tendril or under a fold.....

Complete Story:

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  1. Matter into Metaphor - Transformation in Asian and Western Metals

The origins of metallurgy are shrouded in mystery, contributing to the mythology that dev eloped around the metalsmith's art. With some variations this tradition existed in ancient China , Africa , and Europe but stemmed from roots so archaic as to arise from a basic principle....

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  1. The Cutting Edge - Machine cut Gemstones

Until fairly recently, gem cutting was one of the few areas of the world economy to remain uncontaminated by the computer revolution. All of that changed with the proliferation of personal computers in the 1980's and 90's Since that time, new computer based technologies have trickled to all segment s of the trade from huge, commercial gem cutting operations to thousands of semi-professional faceters and hobbyists at work around the globe. Nowadays, gem cutters from Boston to Bangkok work hand in hand with computers, software, sophisticated instrumentation, and robotic automation to maximize efficiency and reduce waste....

Complete Story:

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Join the most popular online community for jewelers, The Orchid forums at

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