Making jewelry is a long and painstaking process that requires several years of training, knowledge of physics, chemistry and expensive special equipment. We know this and spend hours searching for what we want. jewelry in stores. Many people even develop a sketch on their own and go to a jewelry workshop to have a craftsman make the jewelry of their dreams.
Times are changing, and now anyone can be a jewelry maker. In order to make a real silver ring with our own design, we turned to a jewelry school ARGENTARIUM and made sure that it is not only interesting and exciting, but also really easy.
(Total 26 photos)
Before starting work, we were shown decorations made by instructors and students of the school. There are many decoration options, and you can do it all yourself.
Despite this variety of possibilities, we still wanted a ring. We decided that if we liked it, we’d come back a little later for the pendant.
The first surprise: it turned out that it was not necessary to melt the silver to give it the desired shape. The decoration is made from plastic silver Precious Metal Clay (PMC), which was invented by specialists from the Japanese company Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. PMC mass consists of a mixture of tiny particles of silver, water and a non-toxic plasticizer, and it is as easy to work with as regular plasticine.
The whole process is simple and straightforward: you need to come up with a piece of jewelry, make it, fire it in a kiln (the water and plasticizer will burn, and the silver particles will be firmly sintered with each other), and at the end you will receive a 999-carat silver product. Modern alchemy at its finest! Before starting work, the head of the school, Evgenia, showed us what tools we could use to create exactly the decoration we wanted.
The second surprise: everyone has most of the tools for work at hand: any texture can be “imprinted”, and to cut out the desired shape, an awl or blade will do.
Various stamps for producing imprints and imprints on the silver mass before firing.
To create volumetric products, you can use liquid silver in a syringe. Silver paste is squeezed onto the cork base using a syringe. The firing process burns away this base, leaving you with a hollow silver bead similar to those created by silversmiths hundreds of years ago called “filigree.”
There are thin plates-leaves made of plastic silver, from which you can fold any figure, for example origami. Isn't it a miracle to make a crane or a boat out of pure silver?
You can also use dried leaves as a preparation for future decoration. If you cover a leaf with liquid silver and burn it, the leaf will burn, and you will get a unique pendant or pendant that completely replicates all the natural curves and texture, which is simply impossible to make on your own.
In the jewelry business, there is no place without precious stones. You can add multi-colored inserts to the design of any jewelry: cubic zircons (cubic zirconia) or other laboratory stones that can withstand high temperatures.
Of course, it was very tempting to make ourselves a unique pendant, but we came for the ring and decided to make it anyway.
Before you start working with ductile silver, you need to correctly calculate the size of the ring, because during the firing process the mass shrinks by 16%.
Lubricate the board with a special compound so that the silver does not stick, and go ahead!
Roll out the RMS into a pancake of the calculated size. Cards glued together in several pieces on the sides of the workpiece allow us to adjust the thickness of the future ring and roll out the silver in an even layer. A simple life hack, proven by practice :)
PMC silver can be cut, rolled, added texture and given absolutely any shape. The third surprise: it is especially pleasant that ductile silver forgives any mistakes - after drying, it is easily restored with water and returns to its working condition. You have the opportunity to remake the decoration before firing if you don’t like something in the original piece, or add additional elements.
We created a ring with a floral design using a rubber stamp.
After we have received the desired impression and closed the ring, it needs to be dried.
Firing can be carried out in different ways. Pros use a jewelry muffle furnace, while for beginners, a more budget-friendly “home” option is suitable - a specially designed ceramic burner that runs on dry alcohol.
We fired the ring in a muffle furnace. With the right temperature and time conditions, the water is completely evaporated, the organic plasticizer burns out, and the silver particles are fused with each other, forming a solid metal that preserves the entire design down to the fingerprints.
After 25 minutes our ring was “baked” :)
Now we remove the oxide film - a white coating that appears on the surface of the product during combustion. Next, using jewelry tools, we finish the decoration.
The fourth surprise: after firing, you can do whatever you want with the metal. Drill, saw, grind, enamell, blacken and, of course, polish to a mirror shine!
Using a steel brush, remove the oxide film.
Sand with sandpaper.
A special black solution - jewelers call it “sulfur liver”, and mere mortals have access to another remedy - sulfur ointment, which is sold in any pharmacy. By the way, blackening a piece of jewelry is also an art. Blackening emphasizes the structure and ornament of the decoration: depending on the technique, the result can be so different that a separate master class was dedicated to this matter.
We polish the ring using an agate tool to give it shine.
And here it is - the ring of your dreams! Made according to your own design and with your own hands!
If you wish, you can learn to knit, sew, weave beads and fire pots. It seems that creation jewelry- this is something beyond ordinary human capabilities, somewhere at the intersection of alchemy and magic. In fact, anyone can take a master class and make their own jewelry. The technology turns out to be surprisingly simple, especially when explained good master. Our teacher Evgenia was able to interest even skeptical students. It seems that now half of the group will definitely return for the pendant for their signature collection.
Perhaps we do too :) And for the first visit to any master class, we give our readers a 10% discount using the promotional code BIGJEWEL (this must be entered in the class registration form).
Shall we move on to the photo report? ;)
The workshop is located at the developing Crystal plant. Since it was already getting dark, it was raining and I was late, I didn’t take pictures of him. But it is very atmospheric, so I illustrate the story with a photo from the Internet:
The plant is located near Yauza, across the river from Winzavod and Artplay. Now, when I was looking for a photo, I saw that the plant will be reconstructed: they plan to create a pleasant public space with cafes, shops, creative offices and more. Already last summer there were fairs and festivals there, many people visited the new place. Concept and appearance Reminds me of the Bottle design factory, doesn’t it? Competition! :)
But about the plant another time, I want to return there when the weather is better to explore a new party place;) And now let’s return to the master class, which took place in the creative workshop. It is combined with a small but nice photography studio, so there are a lot of cameras of varying degrees of vintage, paintings and paint-splattered easels. Atmospheric place!
This is what a jeweler's workplace looks like - nothing luxurious, but not only silver is processed here, but also gold and gems. At the bottom there is a pedal for the sanding machine.
First we took a small amount of silver and melted it.
After this, the molten mass was poured into a mold, where it froze, but not tightly. In general, silver is a fairly malleable metal and can be worked with for some time without further melting.
Having cooled the resulting “sausage” in cold water, we moved on to running-in. It occurs in two stages: first you need to set the width of the ring (the right side of the machine), and then the thickness (the left side). You insert the sausage into the opening, turn the handle and it crawls through the hole. The running-in takes place gradually, with approximately 30 spins at each stage. That is, you cannot immediately take and flatten the metal in one scroll - then it will crack and you will have to start over.
During the last scroll, it was possible to imprint some pattern on the metal (it's still soft, remember?). They offered me a piece of lace, something else - I chose a leaf, because just recently I got a ring in the form of a twig, and I decided to make this ring for the phalanx. It turned out to be such an eco-theme :)
After that, using a thread, I measured the circumference of my finger and cut off the required amount. This was difficult, because the jigsaw needs to be held strictly vertically and ensure that it does not “move” to the side. Here they helped me, since this is an important stage - the cuts must be perfectly even in order to be joined later.
Then a ring is formed from the strip around a cone-shaped stick using a soft hammer. I'm very focused and tense :)
Now it's time to bleach the silver in acid to return the original color - it darkens after remelting.
Next stage: sanding in several ways. First, the side edges of the ring are sanded using sandpaper.
Then the outer and inner side sandpaper rolled into a drill. The ring must be held tightly, otherwise it may fly out into the eye. And this is not so simple, because it vibrates strongly under the influence of the drill - it flew away a couple of times, so I preferred to photograph this stage :)
After this, the ring goes through the final stage of grinding on a machine with a rapidly spinning rubber “wheel”. Due to rapid friction, the ring instantly heats up and after each touch to the “wheel” it must be immersed in cold water.
That's it, the ring is ready! All that remains is to clean it in an ultrasonic bath - leave it there for 10 minutes. You can rest and wipe the sweat of zeal from your forehead :)
And here is the result!
An indescribable feeling when you make something yourself: now I wear this ring without taking it off - here it is, the power of handmade. So I advise you to go to the master class, it is not at all expensive. Or an option for guys: buy a certificate for MK and give it as a gift on February 14 or March 8;)
Thanks to my jewelry mentors who helped me create the photo report!
When you have a decent amount of jewelry at home that has fallen into disrepair or become unfashionable, you can start making gold items from your own gold. This type of service is provided by small jewelry companies and private craftsmen. In this case, you can save a lot, because you only have to pay for the work, and the lion’s share of the cost of finished jewelry is made up of precious metals.
As a result, you will receive a unique item that can even be made according to your sketch. Making jewelry from your own gold is attractive because of the opportunity to obtain an exclusive product, but this step must be taken after careful consideration. There are many pitfalls that you need to study before going to the first jeweler you come across.
What gold items will the new jewelry be made from?
Many private craftsmen or small jewelry companies work exclusively with the customer’s gold, since it is expensive for them to hold their own reserves of metal. But what kind of gold needs to be brought there for the jeweler to accept it 100%? A list of products accepted for work can be found on the websites of private companies or you can inquire about this directly from the master.
As a rule, the following gold items are accepted for melting down and subsequent production of new jewelry:
- old pendants, rings, rings;
- torn chains and mismatched earrings;
- items with missing inserts;
- dental crowns and denture discs;
- gold bullion;
- commemorative coins and their scrap;
- gold plates.
An important note regarding dental crowns. Jewelers prefer to deal with these items of at least 750 standard. And dental prosthetic discs made of gold must be stamped with the trademark of the factory that manufactured them. A similar requirement applies to gold plates - their surface must also have a clearly visible imprint with information about the manufacturer.
Otherwise, jewelers do not have strict conditions. They are ready to accept products of different standards for work, but not lower than 500, since lower-quality gold contains more copper than gold itself. precious metal. The color of the scrap submitted for melting can be any - yellow, white, red or pink.
At the same time, there is a clear list of gold items that no workshop will accept for making new jewelry from. The list of prohibited items includes the following:
- gold in nuggets;
- plates without names (imprints) of manufacturers;
- items for laboratory or industrial purposes;
- gold filings and shavings;
- medals and orders.
When contacting a jeweler for services, be sure to check with him how much jewelry you need to hand over to create a particular product. The fact is that during the manufacture of a new piece of jewelry you will definitely need a little more gold than it will ultimately contain. finished form. The reason for this is the waste of the metal during its melting. Another small amount of gold becomes fine dust during the grinding and polishing of the cast jewelry.
On average, losses are about 10%. Moreover, the percentage increases when the item the client chooses to order is light in weight - the larger the item, the less gold will be lost during its manufacture.
What are you paying for?
There is no single cost that can be quoted for making a new item from your gold.
Price depends on many factors
| What does the amount consist of? | Why else is it growing? |
| Let's start with the fact that making a ring from your own gold will be cheaper than making a chain from your own gold. | The key factor in price is the difficulty of creation. A ring is much easier to make than a chain assembled from hundreds of small elements. And if the product is elaborate and requires a lot of time to manufacture, then the price may rise due to the complexity of the work. |
| Basically, you are paying for the labor of the jewelry maker. | But the final price includes not only the direct work of the author. The receipt will also indicate the cost for making the wax model. |
| Time counts. | In the event that a new decoration needs to be made in a short time, then there will also be an extra charge for urgency. |
| In addition, the final cost will be influenced by the weight of the finished item and the presence of precious stones in it. | You can also hand them over for inlay or choose from stones offered by the jeweler, which will also affect the price. |
If the gold you brought is not enough to make the selected product, you will need to pay extra for the missing amount. But jewelers are ready to add only a small amount of their own precious metal - no more than one gram - since their reserves are usually small.
A huge advantage of turning to private jewelers for a new piece of jewelry is the fact that, if you wish, you can agree to pay part of the amount in gold. That is, if the metal you brought is more than enough for the selected product and there is some amount left, then it is possible to calculate its cost and subtract it from the price for the finished product. But you need to understand that this gold is valued as scrap, and therefore its value is not too high.
If you do not want to include the remaining precious metal in the price, then the excess must be returned to you. They are returned in the form of a gold plate, which must certainly be stamped with the code of a jewelry company or private craftsman.
Work takes time
Different companies offer different lead times for making your gold items. The time frame depends not only on the complexity of the order, but also on the number of jewelry craftsmen. Therefore, some companies promise to cope with the task in two to three weeks, while others immediately admit that it takes them from a month to a month and a half to complete the application efficiently. Therefore, if you are planning to receive new gold jewelry for the holiday, then place your order in advance so as not to overpay for urgency.
However, if we are talking about an engagement ring that you want to make from your own gold, then the time frame may not be so long. Masters admit what to do wedding ring the easiest one, since it usually has a laconic design. To make an engagement ring, the jeweler rolls out a block of gold, bends it and welds it with gold solder. Then he shapes it into a perfect circle and polishes it so that the engagement ring shines beautifully. The second manufacturing method allows you to create perfect, seamless rings. In this case, the master makes a wax model of the ring in advance, which adds value to the finished product. It is noteworthy that the jewelers themselves admit that such gold rings have no external differences. But many newlyweds, following superstitions, are happy to shell out twice as much money to ensure that their rings are seamless.
There are several ways to order a product made from your own gold. Firstly, the client can choose the design of the accessory from the catalog, which any craftsman or jewelry company must have. In some cases, they even have samples made from inexpensive metals. Then a person can carefully consider the options in the smallest detail and choose the most suitable one for himself. You can also bring your finished gold jewelry to jewelers so they can sketch the design and take all measurements. But even if you only have a photo from a glossy magazine, this option will also work. The master will draw a sketch and create a 3D visualization in a special computer program. Once the customer approves the submitted design, the jeweler will begin work.
Clients are always warned that if they want a copy of some model of a famous fashion house, they will still not receive an identical item. However, you can count on the fact that your gold new thing will be 85-90% a copy of the model you like.
DIY ring? It's not difficult at all! Detailed master class will tell you with photos and instructions how to make a ring at home. We wish you good luck!
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Ira Fried - jeweler, designer, artist. She makes amazing pieces that are minimalistic and very vibrant. Metal meets wood, gold meets silver, to wrap around your finger in a graceful ring. Pendants are fragile twigs, earrings are fragments, drops. Periods, commas and quotation marks - stylish and “tasty”, just the way I like them :)
In her work she is guided by two rules:
Simplicity will save the world!
There are no ideal forms in nature and I like it!
Ira is inspired by Scandinavia and minimalism, which determines the simple, northern beauty of her jewelry.
Ira has equipped a real workshop at home, because working with metal requires working on machines, being able to handle burners and even a dental drill(!)
But it’s always better to see once: Ira showed us the whole process of creating a product, in this case, rings, from start to finish.
“So let's begin!
First, we collect the required amount of silver and melt it in crucibles into a total mass.
When the metal becomes liquid, we pour it into the mold. The metal is fixed in it and cools instantly...
Just like this “bullet”. The bullets can be different depending on what “caliber” we have chosen.
Next, in order to get closer to the shape of the ring, we need to make a strip from the “bullet”. To do this, we need a Roller machine, where metal is rolled between two shafts. First, we level the square to the required size in the grooved shafts, and then we roll it in the flat shafts and get a strip of the required thickness.
When rolling metal, it needs to be periodically annealed, or as jewelers say, “released.” This is done in order to relieve stress from the metal so that it can be rolled further more easily.
To get a specific ring, for example size 17.5, we need to measure out a strip of the desired size. They suggested an excellent formula that I always use: strip thickness 1.7 times 3 + ring size 17.5 times 3 = 57.6 mm (required strip length). Then we need to connect the edges and close them into a circle.
They must close very tightly, only then can we quickly and well seal the ring. We do this using a torch and solder (an alloy of silver and other metals).
When the ends are firmly connected, we put this strange shape on the Rigle and, to spite our neighbors, knock on the future ring with a wooden hammer, giving it the ideal shape and right size. And now we already have a full-fledged ring that can be put on your finger, although it’s not very beautiful yet :) Let’s start decorating it. First, we throw it into the bleach for 2-3 minutes and the blackness disappears from the ring.
Then we carefully work with a file, smooth out all the irregularities and release the beauty of the metal.
Don’t forget to collect silver filings, they will later turn into equally beautiful rings :)
After the file, we go to the drill and sand the ring a little more with sandpaper. And now, the ring is ready! But we don’t have a simple ring, but with a duck.
We scratch an approximate drawing on the ring and move on to all well-known dental burs. No, no, we won’t treat the teeth yet, but they will help us make a duck.
Somehow, working with burs, we first get something similar to a duck, and then a real one. Quack-quack! :)
In order for the duck to be clearly visible on our ring, it needs to be blackened. Eat different ways blackening, one of them is very simple and I use it for small details. Blackening is done using a candle and iodine. So, first you need to smoke required space, and then cauterize it with iodine.
