Name: Richard Dunstan Hamilton Jr.
Email: @rick
Address: c/o Edgartown Jeweler’s Studio
261 Upper Main Street PO Box 277 Edgartown, MA 02539-0277
For the past 18 years I have been working as a goldsmith on
Marth’s Vineyard. My training includes white metal modelmaking in
the RI jewelry industry, fabrication techniques and lost wax
casting and wax carving. I currently share a studio with a
cloisonne enamelist, a gemologist and another jeweler. We do
custom jewelry and design jewelry items, insurance appraisals,
enamel jewelry, mixed metals jewelry involving niobium, gold
alloys, platinum alloys and sterling silver, jewelry repair, and
wholesale manufacture.
I wanted to thank everybody who is currently posting messages
through Orchid. I admit that I know very little of the technical
aspects and specifics of the jewelry world, only the products. I
look forward to coming to work every morning to see the
conversations which have occurred about jewelry making during the
last 24 hour period. It has become very apparent to me that the
jewelry field is a thriving and continually growing area of
business. I also wanted to thank everyone who has been contacting
me. Over the last several weeks I have had dozens of individuals
contact me for pertaining to our stone setting
classes, benchwork, stone setting tools and even woodwork! It’s
been really inspiring. And, to those of you who have been waiting
for the arrival of our new catalog, it will be here within the
next week and a half.
On a more personal note, I wanted to explain why I know very
little about the jewelry industry. It’s simple: I’m still very
young (22) (but willing to learn). I just graduated from Emporia
State University (Kansas) with my Bachelor’s degree in Business
Management in May of 1997. Currently I am working almost full
time while working on finishing up my MBA degree. I should
graduate in December. Upon graduation, I intend to stay with
Glendo Corporation and remain dedicated to the people who own this
great company. They really are a great family. Anyway, look
forward to learning from everyone and their conversations in the
future and hope to hear from many of you soon.
Greetings to all. My name is Bill Churlik. I have been lurking and
learning for several months now. I have waited along time to find
such a delightful forum. I have been bending and melting metals for
over 30 years now. I figure that I’ll have a handle on the field in
another 20 years.
I work silver, gold, and other nonferrous metals. My specialty is
repair work. I have learned to do most everything from grandmother s costume jewelry to her nephew s Mack truck radiator. The secret is
heat control and clean surfaces.
Hobbies include period architectural millwork, hot glass, and steam
powered machinery and tractors. Oh yes, Siberian Huskies too. Enough
of this.
I would like to hear some comments on casting stones in place. I
would like to cast a number of baguette and small round diamonds in
place in a 14KY band. I have not done this before. These rings will
have a fair amount of filigree also. Any about burnout
time, temperatures, investment brands, stone cleanliness would be
most helpful. I use a Hoke torch with oxy and propane unless heat
requirements call for oxy-acetylene.
Hope to become more active once I get over the “Boy am I dumb
syndrome.” Thank you all for what I am about to learn.
Glad to see you finally have come out to meet the rest of this fine
group.
You should get past the “Boy am I dumb syndrome” in a hurry here,
because I know you are only referring to your newness at the computer.
and not the status of your metal work.
AJM Magazine has published several articles on casting with stones,
most recently in March 1997, “Casting Stones” by Ajit Menon. You can
order copies on line by going to AJM’s web site, http://www.ajm-magazine.com and clicking on “article index.” Once you
search the articles and find what you’re looking for, it gives you an
option for ordering.