I have been asked many times for advice about becoming a professional jeweler. So here are my musings, thoughts, and opinions on how to become a professional jeweler. This might ramble a bit but I feel this all ties together.
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It is my hope that this competency profile can be used by administrators in trade schools, 4-year colleges & universities, Postsecondary vocational schools, technical colleges and high school trade classes. I will be using this as a basis for my teaching and the book I hope to write very soon helping others learn the basics of goldsmithing.
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If you are reading this, I hope you came to my blog because you have decided that having a career in the jewelry trade might be fun and interesting.I have no idea what you think you will find here. I also am not sure what you need to hear so all I can do is try to connect with written words and try to point you in a good direction using my own experiences as a model. So we quickly circle back to the original question. “How do I start?“ I should begin with how I started as a jeweler.As…
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About fine silver A few weeks ago on Facebook I saw a post about the correct way to anneal fine silver. Being a professional jeweler, I answered with the comment that fine silver does not need annealing as it has no copper or other alloying metals in it and as such, can not work harden. Well. my opinion was summarily dismissed and the conversation went on with people, mostly hobbyists, either supporting or arguing against my claim. Being the type of personality that I am, I decided to get to the truth. So with several weeks of research, I have…
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Below is the description that I share to let people know what I do as a Jewelry Educator.I felt it might be wise to look at this statement, “deconstruct” it and expand on it so you can see my reasoning for writing what I did. it has a lot to talk about and even more importantly, think about.My statement: As a Jewelry Educator, I strive to blend historical and modern methods of jewelry design and metalwork via lectures, teaching, and hands on learning in a variety of traditional and contemporary materials and processes. I teach the formal principles and elements…
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This style of hooked fastener was very popular during the early Tudor era. (1500 - 1575). As there is no soldering, it is a good first project for new jewelers. The process used here can be easily used to make other items.
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I have seen that many online educational videos tend to assume that you have some experience with bench work. Many also assume that you have access to tools. Lots of tools. Very expensive tools. This was a pet peeve of mine when I was just starting in the 80's and it seems that nothing has really changed.
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This video shows how to make a basic, but often used tool at the jewelers bench. The sanding stick. You should make several of these in different grits of paper.
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A great example of how things change. Look at your engagement or wedding ring. Is it a Tiffany style solitaire? If so, I have some trivia for you.
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Every jeweler starts somewhere This page is where I will share information that I have learned over the years.