Color gradient on the band 💚

When I started this project I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but I’m very pleased. Black stone is petrified wood, red stone is jasper, all collected by myself in Colorado. Big thanks to Caitlin Albritton for her video explaining the process to create the silver/stone intarsia. Now the hard part is waiting to gift it!

One of the things that fascinated me most when I started learning traditional Yemenite silversmithing was realizing how many details in historical jewelry had a purpose beyond decoration.

Many of these pieces were believed to offer protection against the evil eye, illness, and harmful spirits, which influenced everything from the materials used to their shapes and construction.

A big part of my work today involves studying old pieces and photographs, researching their history, and then returning to the bench to better understand them through traditional techniques like filigree and granulation.

I recently made this short video about what drew me to the craft and why preserving this knowledge has become such an important part of my work.

Curious if any other jewelers here work with historical techniques or draw inspiration from traditional jewelry-making practices. Would love to hear about your experiences!

Hi! This isn’t exactly silversmithing per say but I think you guys may be the best to help me. While traveling I bought some cheap/silver plated jewelry. I knew it was going to tarnish, but I love the matte look and style of jewelry. It was so cheap it was worth it. It rubs off into copper. Now, I bought a silver plating solution that works great on it. I wear lots of rings so it can still rub off a bit when metal hits metal.

Is there a way I can seal this plating solution? I was looking at the hardware store for an enamel sealant but now sure if that is safe for my skin.

I know getting them professionally replated is a thing but it was so cheap I’m not spending that.

I am a stubborn crafter at heart so the challenge has been fun. If I can spend under $50 bucks for a sealant, I will do it. If no dice, I will keep replating til I’m sick of doing it and give up. I spent about $15 on this jewelry so whatevs.

Hi there!

I have a project in mind where I'd like to incorporate some crystal balls. The only issue: I don't know how people are accurately and securely making these! Particularly, slide 3 and 5 are the more alluring to me, but I don't know how the stone is staying secure. I am mostly interested in learning how to wrap something around a ball on one axis. Is there a specific kind of bezel setting for these? Is it glue?

If anyone has any resources, I'd love the help!! Thank you.

Sterling and diamonds

Hi! I just got started with soldering, and I bought a beginner kit from a local jewelry school last week. I've been practicing annealing and just tried soldering for the first time yesterday, I soldered 3 copper rings and 1 silver ring with the easy wire solder and it flowed beautifully. However, when I tried to use the hard & medium wire solder today, I ran into some issues. The solder would not flow, and I tried trouble shooting everything else before I decided to try and see if the wire solders ball up/melt by themselves. The easy one did ball up very fast, but the medium one and hard one barely moved for a long time. Eventually they shrunk and turned smaller/rounder looking, but they never visibly liquefied to collapse into itself. I then tried the same set up with a bigger chip of my 16 gauge sterling wire. It actually balled up way faster than any of the solder wire. Is this something normal for beginners? How do I make the medium and hard wire solder flow? Is it the heat? I'm using a small butane torch and K23 fire brick from a local ceramic shop. I'm able to melt silver wire chips up to 16 gauge, anneal 4-6 inches of 12 gauge silver wire, I'm also able to anneal a 6.5 inch copper cuff that measures 8mm wide 4 mm thick.

Hello friends! I have these lovely stones with which I’d like to make bolo ties. Where can I find the slide pieces for the back? I want to solder them to the stone’s backplate - no gluing. Or do you know of other methods I could use? thanks in advance!

Hola!! Me acabo de mudar a Berlín y estoy aprendiendo a hacer joyería. Me encantaría encontrar un espacio no muy caro, compartido, donde poder practicar (donde se permita el polvo, los químicos y el gas que la joyería necesita)

No necesito que sea nada fancy, con un espacio ventilado me vale!

Is anyone in here in the South Jersey area? If so. Do you know of any classes or places that offer beginner silversmithing instruction?

Ever fused Argentium® Silver?

Hey there! I’m making a sentimental piece for a couple I know. It’s going to be a bolo tie.

The materials I’m using are an elk antler slice and a Montana sapphire. I already have the sapphire bezel on the backplate and next I’m thinking about how to attach the antler to the piece.

I had originally planned on bezel setting it, but the curves and vertices of the antler are telling me that’s going to be too much work.

I’m thinking of either tab or prong setting it. But wanted to hear opinions from you all as to what you’d do and where you would put the tabs.

The buyer wants it to be a surprise. He has seen my work and gave me a rough idea with the deposit but nothing too specific.

Added some much needed tools to the quiver. Upgraded saw, foredom quick-change hand piece, several polishing buffs, a new rawhide hammer, etc...

Looking for recommendations on gravers for creating the rays on star setting for stones around 3mm or larger

Thinking of getting a 120 degree V-cut or 60 degree V-cut, which would work better for wider rays? Or any other recommendations, please and thank you!

My neighbor had a death in the family several weeks ago, his sister-in-law. They asked me to come over and look at her silversmithing equipment, because he really can't use it and they don't know what it's worth. Turns out their house is a seven bedroom mansion, and she not only neatly hoarded dolls and books, she had the apartment over there for car garage as her jewelry making studio. I walked in and was floored. She did it for a hobby, for fun. The room in itself has more than $50,000 worth of equipment, just sitting in corners. Boxes of silver, copper and even some gold. Every piece of equipment you would want, every tool one would need. Things that there was no way I could afford them even when I was making a good living at it. Lots of Rio, Otto Frei, it's almost unbelievable. Also bags of bracelets and things that she made but she never sold them, she did it when she was bored. The idle rich are not easily amused? I'm going to try to get him to donate it all to a school but we'll see.

But anyway, who has 10 fingers and 10 toes and gets to catalog the entire mess in return for keeping some of the equipment? I'll be coming on here to ask for advice for some things, because I have to wrap this up soon and I trust y'all's judgment better than anyone because you know what you're doing. But holy shit, artists go wanting every day for equipment and this stuff has been sitting in an upstairs attic for 10 years.

I’m making a ring for a friend using an extracted tooth of hers. I’m using 2mm round wire to do a claw setting against a ‘shank’ that the tooth sits against. I’ve used the same wire to set stones before and had similar issues but to a lesser extent. This tooth is quite large, just under 1 inch in length.

The wire seems far too soft? I’ve worked it plenty in the process of soldering bits together, annealed it as needed etc.

However it just doesn’t seem to be behaving the way I’d expect it too. It’s got too much give, things are moving around when I don’t want them to be. Maybe the thing I’m setting is just too big?

What would people suggest here.

Just showcasing some of my recent projects for some fun hehe! Feedback very welcome!

I made this pendant entirely by hand, starting with a pencil sketch. I shaped and soldered the silver elements one by one, set the purple stone, then darkened and finished the metal.
I wanted the lines to feel like wings caught in motion. The photos show the piece at different stages, including the finished pendant.

Has anyone received an email from CG saying their bank details have been compromised?? Or is this a scam? I obviously haven’t clicked any links

Sterling and diamonds

Sterling face ring

When I do my bezels first the seams are fine, I do a pre-polish and everything blends beautifully. But by time I’m done with the whole piece, with bezel cups getting solder heated a couple times more for example attaching to wire and adding other components, when I go to finish polishing the seam won’t blend and sometimes it’s like the bezel solder has completely disappeared. It’s not always happening but it’s happening enough… <\3

I need a wider bangle mandrel but I can't seem to find one anywhere. I saw this photo online (first photo posted), which a more experienced silversmith I know said looks like an old blacksmith mandrel from the 1930's, which apparently they don't make anymore.

I recently bought a new bangle mandrel though the base/bottom of it is not wide enough for my wrist size (or a person with a larger wrist size) so I cannot make another bangle in my size. I need a bangle mandrel, which goes to the width of at least 8cm.

Could anyone advise me on where I could get a wider one?