[Source] Reticulation Silver

Hi everyone. I am a hobby jewler down in New Zealand and have been
having trouble getting some reticulation silver. I want some to
experiment with after seeing some great pieces. I can only afford a
small quantity, but need some other silver too, so would want to get
it all from the same supplier. My question is, does anyone know of a
supplier, perhaps here, or Australia, or anyone willing to deal in
small quantities so far away? I emailed Hauser and Millar, but had
no reply.

Hope someone can help, thanks in advance
Philip Wells, in sunny Nelson

Hi Philip, I know they are not in Oz, but I find Rio Grande great to
deal with and I usually have my order within two weeks. They don’t
seem to mind small orders and do offer reticulation silver 80/20
sheet from 1/2"x3" with a 50 cent surcharge for cutting when not a
full sheet. If you need gauge/size email me off list @
@Kim_Griffith

Best regards,
Kim Griffith in Queensland, Australia

Philip,

I learned to reticulate silver with sterling and then tried
reticulation silver. I prefer reticulating sterling, the edges roll
nicely, sure I don’t get the huge geographical mountain ranges, but I
do like what I get and feel I have more control.

Jennifer Friedman
Ventura, CA

Hi Phillip

I’m not sure what reticulation silver might be, but I buy my sterling
from AGR Matthey in Auckland 09 360 4830.

G’day Philip; I* haven’t bought silver for a good while lately, but I
used to get it from Johnson Matthey in NZ - see Google. I think
Google lists other precious metal suppliers too. But the one I dealt
with mostly went out of business a good while ago. But have a look.
The yellow pages might help too.

Cheers for now,
John Burgess; @John_Burgess2 of (even sunnier) Mapua, Nelson NZ

Hi Philip,

If it’s tough to get ahold of, why not make your own? Am I correct
in assuming that there are wholesalers of royal metals and copper
(i.e. piping) in New Zealand? All that the so-called “reticulation
silver” is, is an alloy of 80% pure silver and 20% pure copper,
ideally rolled out to 21 gauge or less, if I recall correctly. If you
have access to a torch, rolling mill, charcoal block, and both pure
copper and fine silver (in any form), all you’ll need to do is
accurately weigh the two metals, then flux, melt/stir and form them,
according to your needs. Will this approach work for you?

Regards,
Doug
Douglas Turet, G.J.,
Turet Design
P.O. Box 242
Avon, MA 02322-0242
Tel: (508) 586-5690
Fax: (508) 586-5677
doug.at.turetdesign.com

Doug,

You are correct. What I do is take a 1oz coin of fine silver, add
1/5 oz of copper and melt them together. Make an ingot and begin
rolling to the necessary gauge.

Reticulated silver from a metals dealer carries a heavy premium. It
is incredibly easy to make your own.

thanks
Terrie

Two sources for reticulation silver are Hauser and Miller
http://hauserandmiller.com And http://www.metalliferous.com both
will take small orders.

Bill
william.swiggart@vanderbilt.edu

Hoover and Strong in Virginia also sell the sheet to make
Reticultated Silver it is 80/20 alloy.

Dennis

Thankyou so much for all your help ! I’ve studied all your replies
and I’ve decided to try reticulating a piece of straight sterling
first, as I dont want big peaks and valleys with the piece I’m
working on, then I will try to make some myself to experiment on. If
that doesnt go so well, I will try the American supplyers again, so,
thaks again, you are a great bunch !

Philip Wells

Hi again Philip,

If you’re not looking for the extreme mountains and valleys offered
by reticulation – and unfortunately, I don’t think you’re going to
be too satisfied with the results you’ll be able to generate with
Sterling (if there are any) – perhaps you might try roll-printing
or embossing, instead. One of my all-time favorite surface textures
is created by placing an endless coil-type coarse stainless steel
scouring pad in between a piece of dead soft annealed fine or
sterling silver (or high-karat gold) and a sheet of brass, then
rolling this “sandwich” through the rolling mill. (For best results,
use two sheets of brass: one behind the silver or gold, and the
other, on the other side of the scouring pad, for more complete
protection of your rollers.) The finished surface looks very much
like a low-level reticulation, with just enough of the pad’s whorls
transferred to keep the visual appeal. As an alternative to this,
once again, use a sheet of fully annealed metal, then go outside and
look for a freshly-broken piece of granite or diorite; the fresher
the break, the better. (The unground surfaces of curbstones are
excellent for this purpose!) Hold the sheet of metal you plan to use
on top of the stone surface with a pair of tongs, then smack it just
once with all the “oomph” you’ve got, using a 2-5 lb soft rubber or
urethane-faced mallet. This will emboss the metal with the rock’s
grain, providing you with what is, in effect, an externally
“reticulated” finish. If the embossing is too severe for your
tastes, simply repeat the process a few times, and the subsequent
impressions will deform the initial ones. (Be sure to re-anneal after
two such blows, to reduce the chances of the metal splitting on you.)
If you’re using sheet that’s less than 24 gauge in thickness, the
face of the metal you hit with the hammer can provide yet another
intriguing, subtly undulating surface. If you use 30 gauge sterling
sheet in this fashion, and if you then go over this “impact face”
with 600 grit sandpaper afterwards (but don’t polish it!), you’ll
wind up with yet another intriguing surface treatment. Let me know
how these work for you, Philip; I think you’ll find them to be
either useful in their own right, of indicative of new patways you
can devise, of your own. Good luck!

All the best,
Doug

Douglas Turet, G.J.,
Turet Design
P.O. Box 242
Avon, MA 02322-0242
Tel: (508) 586-5690
Fax: (508) 586-5677
doug. at.turetdesign.com

you might try roll-printing or embossing, instead.

Great suggestions, Doug! I can’t wait to try them.

–Noel

Thanks Doug, great idea’s ! I have tried reticulating sterling and
am very pleased with the results so far ! I have done a little roller
embossing, but your idea’s sound really good - I love the idea of
hammering on broken rock ! I will certainly try it ! Thanks again,

best wishes, Philip