Hi everyone. Last night, Seattle experienced a major windstorm that has resulted in widespread power outages across the region (about half of Seattle City Light Co.'s customers are still without power as I write this 24 hours later). They say it may be several days before everyone's power is...

Did anyone go to the gem show in San Mateo, CA? tomorrow is the last day. Went today...quite a lot people attended! If you are planning to go, don't wear too much, hot inside. Bought a tiny ultrasonic cleaner...could someone out there please advice me on what solution to use in it? Thank...

We cast some 820 silver (18% Cu) this weekend and tried it out for reticulation, having never used this alloy before. The strip was about 1" wide and cold-forged / rolled to 2mm. After that much, our patience expired! In a roughly square piece it was notable that there was massive inflation of...

hey guys, I was wondering what the average percentage gallerys or retailers make off a designers piece. I saw a contract that said 40% of gross goes to the gallery, is that the average? is it higher, lower? i know mass porduced pieces are usually marked up double or triple keystone on the retail...

I need to make a "key" to fit an odd security type "lock". It's not a real lock in the sense there are no tumblers, but it was suggested to me that investment casting would be necessary. I've been reading up on that but could really use pointers to resources that would teach me how to do this at...

Anyone now how well photo charm Jewelry lasts? or how well they look? I was thinking about buying some off ebay but not sure if I should or not. any info would be great thanks=20 Nicole,

new to all o0f this i want to take a metal braid of gold plated wire and solder it to a=20 silver ring shank what are the techniques so that the ends of teh braid are even and no=20 one can see them?--i am familiar with laser techniques but how to do it=20 without a laser

Hi everyone I have a question about diamonelle engagement rings. I'm just looking for opinions on them basically... From everything i've read online they seem pretty sweet. They have some on www.theshoppingchannel.com that i was considering.. So if anyone here has any experience with them...

What a fun learning experience! Right up there with learning to fly. Today I produced 29 inches of 20 gage silver wire that is indistinguishable from what I received from Rio in the same shipment as the drawplate. I made some serious modifications to a JSP MALTMILL and with the helpful advice...

what is your most effective method of protecting gemstones from the rath of the torch when fusing/soldering silver or gold. i really hate kool jewel...ive tried holding the gems/pearls under water, but i cant get the silver to melt or ball up ever. have any of you used wet sand? I want to...

Probably not up to the standards of the masters, but I have now completed (more or less) a knife, fork and rest. Actually, I made 6 of the rests a few weeks ago and included one in the picture. The picture includes an inset showing the rough casting of the next fork. The advantages of lost wax...

This doesn't have much to do with jewelry but neither do most of the other subjects. I suppose I should have asked before I did this but... I have a wonderful solid copper saucepan that was plated with something silver on the inside when I bought it years ago. This wore off over time and left me...

I had two gold watches; a 18k Longines and a 14k Accutron. I gave them to a jeweler to see if she could sell them. She found they had no value over the metal value, but lost them before returning them. She is willing to pay for their value, but doesn't know how much gold is contained in a...

Hi, Why not try this gift ifdeas site: http://www.getgifting.com

I am new to this site and have a question about bending wood to make finger rings. The ones that Ihave seen are available in two layers of wood and can have inlays. Any information about bending such small delicate items would be greatly appreciated. Bob

Hi. I was at a craft fair today and spent some time talking to silversmith Brett Payne. He was telling me about a new product called Lustre Silver. I looked it up and it purports to have firestain resistance and anti tarnishing properties. I wondered if anyone on this news group has tried...

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Ah ... but there's more. Yes there is. The fourteenth century authority of Sir John Mandeville known as the "Lapidaire" states with precise clarity that our magical stone also protected horses from the ill effects of drinking cold water when overheated by exertion. The Turks--it would...

Hi everyone, I am the contributing editor of a relatively new site on Jewelry crafting at http://www.gardenandhearth.com/JewelryCrafting.htm I am also the contributing editor of http://www.gardenandhearth.com/BudgetGifts.htm My Jewelry Crafting site is set to feature a bi-monthly bead or...

On Sep 27, 2:41 am, gw4760 wrote: If anyone has a simple adjustable bracelet pattern or where I can find one please send it or the website. Thank you Gwen -- gw4760 hi, altho i dont have a picture, i have made a bracelet for a child