I've been working on some jewellery repairs, resizes and the like and making more stock of the cloud earrings to replace those I've sold. I do so love to see them all lined up, waiting to be stamped with the 925 punch and have earring posts soldered on.
There's so much I love about jewellery. When I first encountered silver smithing I immediately fell in love with the history, the metal, the wonderful tools - like perfectly weighted hammers, shiny punches, heavy doming blocks, needle files, fine pliers, German made tin snips - the gems, the process and techniques. Watching jewellers working fascinated me. From the way they sit, to the precise way they hold a file as they transform a sheet or bar of metal into something else entirely, using tools and techniques that have been around for centuries.
I loved studying jewellery. From the melting points of metal and solder, to the chemical composition of flux. I love the process of making jewellery, from preparing the metal, filing, soldering, pickling, to polishing with the final rouge and ultrasonicing.
I'm still in love and still learning and thankful to be doing something I love.
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