Quality Jewelry

PLANING TO BUY JEWELRY?

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START YOUR SAVINGS.
Did you know that you can save money, when you buy quality items? What does that mean? Sometimes sparkling rings can turn into scrap metal in a couple of months. White gold becomes yellow, the shank of the ring bend and break like thin foil, and stones fall out.


Quality:

Very often white gold is replaced with Rhodium plating. As a result the plating comes off very soon, and it needs to be re-plated . Too thin gold on the ring wears off quickly, shank bend and break. In many cases the jeweler will tell you, that he needs to put new shank, which will cost you more money.

If stones are set askew and not deep enough, they will fall out sooner or later, especially on rings that has to be sized. At the end it is not a bargain anymore, but trouble. Quality saves you money on maintenance and the value will go up over the years. The jewelry can be passed on to your children as a family treasure. It means that you have not just purchased a piece of gold, but you have made an investment. Only good quality pieces can be an investment.

Value:

Here is two things that qualify gold items as valuable. Craftsmanship and quality of stones. If gold have a standard, no matter where you buy. Diamonds and Color Gems are not. Stones like people, have their own face, character, and even history. There are never two the-same.

With diamonds it's easy, all you need to know is the 4-C's

1-Cut 2-Color 3-Clarity 4-Carat-Weight.

Cut- refers to the proportions of the stone. A perfectly cut diamond has more brilliance , because better reflect the light.

Color- by mistake some people think diamond is a white stone, which is good and yellow cheaper. Diamond has all the colors from colorless to yellow, brown, green, blue, red and pink. But fancy pure colors are rare and have more value.

Clarity- diamonds might have marks inside (inclusions). But perfect diamonds are flawless and very rare. Prices can vary, depending on the number and size of inclusions.

Carat- weight of a stone. A carat subdivided in 100 points. 1 point = 0.01carat, 50 points = half a carat. The bigger the size of a stone, the higher price per carat. One diamond of a carat cost more than ten stones with a total weight one carat.

Many large famous diamonds have their own story to tell, books have been written and films have been made. About that i will tell you next time. Come back for more i have a lot to share with you.

Goldsmith Apprentice

Beginning of the craft.

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The secrets of the Craft comes a long way from the past. Before name Goldsmith was born. It has been a time when steel was more valuable than gold. Tools made from steel could be exchange for kilograms of gold jewelry and gems. Which means that jewelry craft was born first. Different techniques were used in different countries but tools are the same.

The Goldsmith Tools.
First you need handy gas, oxygen and torch. Crucible for smelting metals. Ingot, Moulds in cast iron. For forming metal. Jewelry saw frame with saw blades.(there is different sizes): choose thick blades (will last longer for beginners). Few pliers- flat nose, round nose and half round. Side cutter. Hammers-big and small, files and needle files different shape. Soldering Tweezers (a must have). Drill is very important, see if you can get jewellery hanging motor with flexible shaft (second hand wont cost much). Will be good if you can afford Rolling Mills, but you can shape metal with big hammer on a steel block.

Well, now we need materials to work with. No not the gold or silver. There is a big list you have to write down. Sandpaper (300 and 1000 grits), Borax, Boracic powder, Acid (you can use battery acid), Polishing paste, Polishing buffs, Soldering block (asbestos-free), Oil, Cotton wool, Binding wire, Candle(or Bee wax if you can get), Must get Lead and melt in to flat can for better shaping of jewelry. OK, enough for now, we are almost done.

The metal.
Please, please don't melt your grandma's jewelry, they can have more value than you ever know, even plain wedding band with trade mark inside can be priceless ( about that on another page). You can not buy gold from the factory, must have a license and cost a lot too. For the start go to the scrap-yard and buy copper, very good metal to work with. Copper been used for hundreds of years . Better if you can get silver somewhere, please again not the coins.

We are almost ready, you still need little silver to make solder. Use Borax and Boracic powder to make flax, set up melting and polishing place (you can use a grinder to convert in to polishing machine). Almost forgot, your working bench with the skin and bench pin. Congratulations you ready to start, join the Craft.
For the better knowledge on the tools. Goldsmith & Jewellery Suppliers catalogue. You can order from same place as a Jeweller you don't need license for that.

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER: FREE Jewellery making course Dowloadable E-book release.
Goldsmith Apprentice.

I put my life experience in this book, techniques that not many goldsmiths know about. Get it free now!

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