I just got a copy of Neiman Marcus’ latest “Book” – their
monthly catalog of super-expensive doo-dads. One of their
offerings this time is a shoe of the month club – 12 pairs for
only $7200. Hello Imelda Marcos.
To the jewelry. They have a feature on Elizabeth Locke’s
jewelry, beautiful antique looking 18K jewelry. She mentions
that the goldsmiths in her studio in Bangkok “deftly hammer the
gold…to an unusual burnished finish. This process gives it a
weight and a substance…that no cast jewelry could ever have.”
Wow, this was bizarre. I’m looking at the original message that
I sent and the one that was posted and the last paragraph is
missing. I went on to ask if anyone who was familiar with her
jewerly knew how she achieved the finely hammered finish on her
cast gold pieces. I know I need a hammer, what other kinds of
tools would I need?
Boy, am I feeling stupid about the way my post was chopped up.
Rita
Rita, I would think that you would want highly polished
planishing hammers of a suitable face size for the item.
Planishing is a means of smoothing and hardening the surface of
metals. It is not supposed to change the shape of the item. The
item is normally supported on a stake or small anvil. I suppose
that if you are doing cast pieces, they might be supported on a
sandbag. The hammer marks should be even and slightly overlapped.
The surface should show gentle facets and not random pockmarks.
