I'm ready to dive in to a new project and just spent 2 weeks deep in research.
Electroformed Jewelry
I was pretty sure I was going to jump into electroformed jewelry making - until
I received the ring I purchased from a well known etsy seller, and to
be honest, I didn't like it at all! The electroforming was so thick around
the citrine stone and the band of the ring and well, just not appealing
to me.
I did purchase another ring that had just a little of the electroforming process
and I did like this, but I really felt I could get this effect with
a torch vrs. hundreds of dollars in electroforming equipment!
Precious Metal Clay Jewelry
Then I got pulled into the Precious Metal Clay arena..........wow,
so much to learn! I was really leaning this way and dove deep
into videos and material costs and vendors......and all in
all it would cost about the same for this setup as the
electroforming process.
There's so much you can do with the Sterling Silver clay or
Copper clay; intricate designs, crisp detail. Although a
kiln would be preferable, a torch can be used as well
to fire your pieces.
BUT.........one day I caught a teaching video where the
presenter was making a pendant with PMC and she
said "I never use PMC to make rings, it's really not
as hearty as real silver and can break".......
what? So off I went down the rabbit hole to unearth
the negatives of using PMC, and sure enough there
seems to be a problem if the clay is not sintered
enough - whether kiln or torch fired. It seems the
insides turn to sand, thereby leaving the pieces
vulnerable to breakage............ugh! Well, this
is not a good thing!
Although I do like the ability to use PMC for
accenting purposes.
A great site for videos and supplies:
Traditional Metalsmithing Jewelry
So that leaves traditional metalsmithing techniques and
wire wrapping. For what I want to do I will need
a drill, dremel, flax shaft drill, torch for firing and all kinds of
hammers! So, we're still looking at around the
$300 cost for this setup - and a huge
learning curve!
The best videos can be found at:
I'm presently gathering my tools.............so we
shall see!
