They are sterling silver and should be marked 925 or sterling
I don’t use it as a selling point other than to say I use the latest anti tarnish silver alloys. It doesn’t pay to get to technical with most people.
I am presently crafting a line of Silver jewellery. My two ‘selling
points’ are…“Made in Canada” & ".925 Silver"
nuttin’ else…keeping it nice a simple. This line will be displayed & shown
on a Canadian home-shopping channel once I return from my trip to Oakland &
Berkeley, CA. In fact, I will be bringing some of my items with me to my
’sold out’ setting classes!..the teaching fun just never stops!..:>)
Gerry Lewy
(1-905-886-5961)
(1-855-564-0003)
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Fine silver jewellery - would that not be .999 silver Gerry?
Aurora
I meant to write .925, (not .999 fine silver) but “Fine Quality, Silver”.
Gerry! from my mobile-phone!
Ahh I wondered because I’ve heard a lot of jewellery made in India uses .999 silver
Aurora
Weeelllll, we could all get in a big ugly discussion about what constitutes “fine” jewelry. Does it have to be gold or platinum. My prefence to work in for sure. But I do some silver jewelry that I consider fits into the fine catagory. Things have changed a lot the last 10 years in this business.
I think you can have a great discussion about what"Fine Jewelry"is and what it isn’t. I think it is assumed by most to come at quite a price. And it will always be gold or platinum, contain gems and rarely will it be all silver .
I have said for some time that I work in “The American Craft Tradition”. And I will be the first to say that it is for reasons of marketing that I do so. I want people to view my work as affordable, accessible, and wearable art at all times. That it is a high standard of quality is apparent when the customer picks it up and holds and tries it on.
A lot of jewelry is made to be worn at just the right time, what ever time that is. I view craft jewelry to be wearable all the time, any time. I have seen some fine jewelry work by people you will never hear of. And I have seen some craft work with names like Tiffany on board.
What defines fine jewelry? I can’t tell you exactly what defines it but I know it when I see it.
Don Meixner
Hello All,
I have been making my jewels for 41 years, mostly sterling silver, with small details in 4k or 18k gold. When metal clay became available, in The States in 1996, I began to use PMC Fine Silver (.999). I incorporated the use of this form of metal (sintered) in my work, and continue to do so today. I don’t use Fine Silver metal clay for rings, for two reasons. 1. I use traditional metal working methods for making rings. 2. I don’t recommend the use of Fine Silver from metal clay for rings or cuff bracelets, because sintered metal is not dense enough (my opinion). It works beautifully for earrings and pendants. Sintered metal from metal clay can be forged to strengthen it, after firing, but that defeats one of the perqs of metal clay; that of its ability to accept and retain textures without using a hammer. That being said, fine silver, as has been pointed out on Orchid previously, cannot be truly work-hardened, as can sterling silver. Forging sintered fine silver, will compress and compact the silver, bringing it to a denser condition. As an aside, however, in reason years, sterling silver metal clay has become available, and, although I don’t use it, those who do recommend it for making rings, cuff bracelets, etc., and describe it, despite it still being a sintered metal, as considerably denser and stronger than its fine silver counterpart.
Hi! Tried the Sterlium, like it very much. It is much smoother to work with, when filing. Love it! Ordered the Continuum too, waiting for it to arrive…Thanks again!
I was reading up on metal clays and I found this video, but it was done in 2016 … do those of you that use metal clays feel this would still be an accurate review as we approach 2019?
When silver clay came out I took a class and bought several packages. Made up a few things but they were more expensive than the pieces made of standard sterling. Haven’t made the rest of the packages up. Probably will turn them in for melt. Maybe not. Just not impressed. Judy in Kansas was
@Judy_in_Kansas. Never personally worked with it. However two friends claim it allows them to go directly to an artistic object without intervening steps of traditional wax and mold steps. Don’t know for sure, commenting as a casual observer.
Regards RLW
Good thoughts and kudos to those who have found metal clay useful. I can certainly see the value in creating a metal master for further casting in multiples. Also, the shrinking characteristic does allow creating definition in a small piece. This material would also be great for one of those cruise ship classes - silver jewelry created by the student - done in a day!
I confess to enjoying the physical manipulation of the metal and to the occasional challenge to brazing bits to create a final piece. As I have quite a quantity left (it’s all dried out now!), I should rehydrate it and put it to good use…not to mention using that pricey kiln! The kiln does come in handy for hardening Argentium though.
Always enjoy the Ganoksin community joining in a friendly debate over techniques and materials. Keep it up. Happy New Year to everyone.
Judy in Kansas
@Judy_in_Kansas. The cruise idea What a wonderful idea. I have a friend in the industry, maybe I’ll throw it out to her.
Regards RLW