Well put Helen. A number of years ago I stopped making silver
jewelry for just this reason. It took me as much, or more, time to
make the same piece up in silver as it did in gold.
Thank you Daniel, and you make an interesting point. I just wish
gold wasn’t at such a high price! I’m making a piece to donate to a
charity auction and I really want to make it in gold, or at least
fine silver with gold bezels perhaps, so that it raises as much money
as possible. I’m hoping it’ll be the incentive for me to start
working more in gold. I’ve noticed that $15-$20 beaded earrings sell
like hot cakes - but that’s not what I’m into - and also that higher
end pieces in high karat golds also sell, but being in the sterling
silver market and hand-making pieces that compete with all the cheap
imports from Asia is proving difficult to get into. Customer now
expect to pay low prices for sterling silver jewellery, no matter how
many hours it’s taken to make a piece.
This discussion of quality should not be taken as an indictment of
jewellery created by less experienced goldsmiths. A goldsmith can
make quality jewellery from the day one.
Could you define “the day one”?? Is it the day you decide to become a
goldsmith; the day you complete your course of study; the day you
complete your apprenticeship; the day some one tells you that you
are a goldsmith; or some day that you just made up?? And if a
goldsmith can make quality jewelery from the day one, how can it be
that a less experienced goldsmith would not make quality jewelery?
Could you define "the day one"?? Is it the day you decide to
become a goldsmith; the day you complete your course of study; the
day you complete your apprenticeship; the day some one tells you
that you are a goldsmith; or some day that you just made up?? And
if a goldsmith can make quality jewelery from the day one, how can
it be that a less experienced goldsmith would not make quality
jewelery?
Let me share my first week in jewellery shop. When I started in
jewellery, I was a repousse and chasing wizard, so I was quite
confident in my abilities. I was given a pair of baroque pearl
earrings already made. All I had to do is to stamp them. There was no
way to stamp them directly, so I had to stamp a strip of metal, then
curve it into shape to match the earrings and solder it in.
I spent whole week combatting stamp which did not want to stamp
straight, solder which was flooding the letters, strip which was
breaking and did not want to bend, and all the other monsters which
are hiding under the jeweler’s bench. After 4 days, the project was
taken from me, and in front of my eyes another jeweler accomplished
the task in less then 10 minutes.
I failed not because I did not know how to do it. I failed because I
could not get my mind to concentrate on each and every sub-task as an
individual and important step. The sooner this understood, the quicker
anything which leaves your bench would be a quality jewellery.
There IS a difference between agate street fair and crown jewels,
period. Which the rest of us have no problem seeing. Everybody
working at their level.
In the current issue of The Loupe (GIA publication), on page 16
there is a picture of the brooch by Mauboussin c. 1950. Those who do
not receive “The Loupe” should try to borrow it.
The rightmost loop (from observer’s point of view ) has a really
ugly seam connecting the upper and lower part of the loop. Once
located, the seams can be found in other loops by observing the
discontinuity of the shape of the reflections. If that can be seen on
the photograph, I can only imagine what can be found with modest
magnification.
This raises a number of points. The piece is obviously qualifies as
a “Crown Jewel”. The shop why made it had all the time and all the
money in the world to do it right. Then how come that this ugliness
was allowed to leave the shop as a jewel instead of apart of a scrap
heap. The answer is: it probably was presented as “Avant Garde
Design”, and why would anybody care about craftsmanship.
On the other hand jeweler who makes Agate rings cannot afford such
an attitude. The jeweler would carefully fit all the joints an solder
them in such a way that the joints will be invisible to the naked eye.
I leave for others to decide what represents the better quality.
I go back to my youth when I was learning diamond setting and my
teacher told me: “Quality is the meticulous attention to detail”.
This has stood me well over the years and I still hear his voice
whether I’m setting or looking at goods or designing a custom piece.
Quality is the meticulous attention to detail. For me it is nothing
more and nothing less. One man’s opinion of course. Nothing more.
Nothing less.
I applaud anyone who rolls up their sleeves, digs in and makes
things. In a world of increasing numbed out hours in front of a TV
or computer monitor, those who motivate themselves to try something
new, and explore a craft as complex as the one we are involved in
has earned my respect. I admire those that try to push themselves
to 'do it a bit better' every time, and strive for quality.
Since I spent yesterday afternoon trying to channel Kate Wolf as I
started what is, for me, a very challenging wax carving job, I took
particular interest in her comments above. Seeing her presentations
at the CLASP conference for the past two years was an inspiring,
fun, and rewarding experience. I think that it is because of an
attitude of good humor, positivity, and general encouragement that
she exudes. At quitting time last night I felt spent and not all that
optimistic about my project, but I feel today that I can face it with
renewed energy, partly from reading this post. Thanks, Kate and
Orchid! Lots of other material in the Quality thread was helpful to
me, as well. I know I can push this carving farther, and today I will
do so. Putting lots of hours into it is part of the dues I must pay
as I learn to do more complicated work, so I don’t really mind, in
this case. I’m investing in my future as a jeweler who can do carved
wax work of higher quality.