Jewellers Journal
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What Is Keum Boo? A Simple Guide to Adding Real Gold to Your Silver Jewellery
If you would love to add real gold to your silver jewellery, but working in solid gold feels intimidating or expensive, Keum Boo might be the perfect technique for you.
Keum Boo is a beautiful and more budget friendly way to incorporate 24ct gold into your work and elevate the silver pieces you are already making. In this guide, we will look at what Keum Boo is, how it works, what tools you need, and common mistakes to avoid, so you can try it with confidence.
How To Measure Your Ring And Bangle Size (Without Hating the Maths)
The secret is that the maths behind ring and bangle sizing is actually very simple. With a couple of easy measurements and one straightforward formula, you will be able to size accurately without any fear of mistakes.
Torch Firing Silver Clay: Do You Need a Kiln? (Complete Guide)
In most cases, Fine Silver Clay does not require the use of a kiln for the firing process. Instead, you can effectively achieve the right firing temperatures through the method of torch firing, which makes the overall process significantly more accessible and convenient, especially for those who are just starting out on their jewellery-making journey.
How to Price Your Handmade Silver Jewellery: A Simple Formula for Wholesale and Retail
Pricing your handmade jewellery can be one of the most difficult aspects of running your own jewellery business, but it doesn't have to be! I've spent years figuring out what works, and I'm here to share the simple formulas that take the guesswork (and guilt!) out of pricing.
5 Beginner-Friendly, Nature-Inspired Silver Clay Projects You'll Actually Want to Wear (Without Breaking the Bank!)
Silver clay doesn't have to be intimidating or wasteful. Discover 5 beginner-friendly, nature-inspired projects that use just 3-7g of silver clay each, no soldering required. Learn how to create gift or sale-ready jewellery while maximising every gram and building confidence.
Silver Clay Starter Kit: 12 Essential Tools for Beginners
Silver clay is one of the most accessible and rewarding ways to begin your jewellery-making journey and you can begin with just a handful of inexpensive tools and a little guidance.
If you've been curious about working with silver clay but aren't sure where to start, this guide will walk you through everything you need to create your first piece. The beauty of silver clay is that you don't need a fully equipped workshop—just a small collection of essential tools and a willingness to learn.
How to Clean Your Vermiculite Soldering Board/Block
If you notice that your soldering bricks have become discoloured or covered in flux, if pieces are beginning to stick to them after soldering, or that the surface has become pitted and uneven preventing your jewellery elements from sitting evenly on the surface, it may be time to clean your boards.
What is Silver Clay? Everything you need to know
Silver Clay is a fascinating material that consists of tiny particles of silver mixed with an organic binder and water. It can be moulded, modelled, rolled and shaped just like traditional clay, but when fired, the binder burns away, the silver particles sinter together and what you’re left with is a solid silver object. It enables jewellers to create versatile shapes and forms in precious metal with minimal equipment quickly and easily within their home studios.
What is a Jewellers Saw and how do you use one?
A jewellers or piercing saw is a small, handheld tool used for cutting intricate shapes and designs in metal, It‘s made up of a frame that holds a thin, flexible blade and is an essential part of the jewellers toolbox. Learn all about the jewellers saw, which saw blade to use, and how to use it here
Soldering Tools for Jewellery: A Guide for Beginners
Are you ready to get started with silver soldering but you’re daunted by the multitude of options? Here you’ll find a list of the essential tools that I recommend to get you started, along with what they’re used for and shopping links from my recommended suppliers.
What is Siligum? And how to use it for Silver Clay Jewellery Making
Siligum is a non-toxic silicone moulding compound. It comes in two parts (one white and one blue) that when mixed together can be used to create flexible but durable moulds.
It has many uses in a variety of different fields, but in jewellery making it can used for capturing fine detail in plants and flowers, shells, and other small objects that can then be used with silver clay to create jewellery and other embellishments.
What’s a Cotter Pin and how to use one when soldering jewellery
A cotter pin, also known as a split pin, is a metal pin designed for fastening two parts of a mechanism together (think tractors and machinery) but in the world of jewellery making they are also a really useful tool when it comes to soldering.
Setting up your Home Jewellery Studio: The Essential Tools List - UK Edition
UK EDITION
With a seemingly unlimited choice of jewellery tools and gadgets to choose from it can be quite daunting to know what to buy (and what not to buy!) when first setting up your home studio.
So here I have compiled a list of all the essential tools you’ll need to get started with sawing, soldering, metal forming, filing and hand polishing, silver clay, and gemstone setting, as well as some optional extras that are a good investment for your studio and a few starter kits that you may find useful.
Setting up your Home Jewellery Studio: The Essential Tools List - Europe Edition
EUROPE EDITION
With a seemingly unlimited choice of jewellery tools and gadgets to choose from it can be quite daunting to know what to buy (and what not to buy!) when first setting up your home studio.
So here I have compiled a list of all the essential tools you’ll need to get started with sawing, soldering, metal forming, filing and hand polishing, silver clay, and gemstone setting, as well as some optional extras that are a good investment for your studio and a few starter kits that you may find useful.
Setting up your Home Jewellery Studio: The Essential Tools List - USA Edition
USA EDITION
With a seemingly unlimited choice of jewellery tools and gadgets to choose from it can be quite daunting to know what to buy (and what not to buy!) when first setting up your home studio.
So here I have compiled a list of all the essential tools you’ll need to get started with sawing, soldering, metal forming, filing and hand polishing, silver clay, and gemstone setting, as well as some optional extras that are a good investment for your studio and a few starter kits that you may find useful.
What is a Polishing Motor and how to use one in Jewellery Making & Silversmithing
To achieve a high quality finished piece, time spent polishing is essential. So today we’re taking an introductory look at the Polishing Motor to explore what it is, how it works, and what it’s used for, as well as some common attachments and polishing compounds.
What is a Pendant Motor/Flex Shaft and how to use one
A pendant motor (also known as a Flex shaft in the USA) is a high-speed rotary tool that is used in jewellery making for tasks such as drilling, polishing, sanding, engraving, and setting.
In this post we look at how it works, what it’s used for, and some of the different kinds of attachments you can use to make jewellery
What is a Barrel Polisher/Rotary Tumbler and how do you use one?
A Barrel polisher is a machine consisting of a rotating cylinder containing a polishing solution and stainless steel grains known as ‘shot’. Jewellery is placed inside the cylinder and tumbled on a motorised base. The resulting burnishing action of the shot on the metal produces a high shine.
In this post we look at Barrel Polishers, what they are, and when and how to use them
How to make your own Sanding Sticks for Jewellery
Sanding Sticks are wooden sticks of different shapes with emery paper or sandpaper on the top and are used as part of the polishing process in jewellery making to remove file marks or hammer marks from metals in almost every handmade project.
Jewellery Techniques: How to Create a Perfect Ring Join for Soldering
A perfect join is the very most important thing when creating rings (it can also be the most frustrating). It has little to do with your soldering skills, and everything to do with the preparation of the join, so creating a perfect join is a technique that, once mastered, will enable you to create perfect rings every time.