Process

 Jewellery tools, snippers, circle cutters, triblet, silver

 

My jewellery is made using precious metals that require a process and attention to detail. Many different tools and techniques are required. Here I share with you some of the old manual machines that I have used over the years and just a few stages of the process.

 

Some pieces have carefully chosen precious gems or semi-precious stones and laying them out can help to decide on the best arrangement and combination.

 Sometimes a shell or a curious trinket found in a antique stall makes its way into the design too.

 

Search for special old buttons and other curious trinkets in an antique market.

 

 ...or a jewel-like button...

 

 Pearl necklace jewellery with yellow button and vintage lace.

 

... or vintage ribbon ...

 

Vintage ribbon, lace and fabric.

 

   Others pieces incorporate hand selected items such as vintage lace, ceramics or materials such as wood or paper.

 

Vintage pink lace 

 

 

 The Heat of the Furnace 

 

The heat of the furnace brings change...

 

   

 

During the refining process, while heating and purifying the precious metals, I often think of how it reflects the beauty of how we grow, change and become refined inside

 

Furnace for heating and melting the gold and silver precious metals / Foundry 

 

These are the crucibles in which the gold and silver is melted. I love the rustic warm colours that the borax flux leaves behind in the crucible dishes. 

 

Jewellery Crucibles with flux, for heating and melting metal.

  

 

Machines used for Shaping the Precious Metal 

 

These old manual machines with their history from generations of jewellers can be felt and seen in their characterful cogs, nuts and bolts.

 

Jewellery machines, cogs, nuts and bolts.   Jewellery machines, cogs, nuts and bolts.   

 

This is a rolling mill used for shaping the recently melted metal into a usable flat sheet of silver or gold.

 

Manual jewellery machine for shaping the metal into sheets of silver.

 

Jewellery machinery for shaping flat metal sheet

 

This one has different shaped ridges for the first stage in shaping metal into wire.

 

Jewellery machine for the first stage of shaping the metal wire.

 

This machine is where the metal wire can then be drawn down into the required size and shape.  

 

Jewellery Machines, wire former and stretcher

 

Jewellery machine with round draw plate for shaping and stretching the wire into shape.

 

Jewellery machine for stretching and forming metal wire

 

These stamps are used to mark the metal with a desired message,texture or shape.

 

Jewellery tools, letter stamps for marking metal

 

Jewellery tools, letter stamps for marking metal.


 A variety of hammers with different weights and shapes are used for different tasks.

 

Jewellery tools and hammers.