Saturday 19 December 2015

The creation of charms

Horse Charm (chr-2770)-335When you browse our range of solid gold and silver charms you see the finished product of many hours of work and many steps in the creation process.


A new charm begins as an idea in the mind of one of our artisans. It may come from within, or at the request of a customer who is looking for a special item that isn’t otherwise available. He or she will visualise the final design from every angle before putting it to paper to ensure it meets the customer’s expectations.


Making the master


It is rare for a charm to be created in a single step from the final material (silver or gold). Most often the original or ‘master’ charm is created from working with softer and more easily worked compounds. Jeweller’s wax is a common choice to use as it is easily carved and can be heated to make it more malleable. Wax is also quite dense and allows a very smooth surface to be obtained. Fine detail is also easily obtained as can be seen in the texturing found on many of the charms we have for sale.


The wax model is finished to the highest standard possible as it becomes the master from which the copies will be made.




Photo credit: MAURO CATEB via Foter.com / CC BY

Creating the first charm


A sprue (a wax stem) is added to the wax master so that it can be invested in plaster of Paris. This process involves placing the charm and sprue (stuck to the bottom) inside a small container and filling it with liquid plaster to completely cover the wax. Usually this is placed in an outer container that can have a vacuum applied to remove any air bubbles from the investment (plaster).


When the plaster has dried and hardened, the wax must be removed leaving the shape of the charm and sprue set into the plaster mould. A high temperature oven takes care of this process by evaporating the wax from the plaster. This is called ‘lost wax casting’ and is the most common way of producing multiple charms.


The sprue forms the opening in the plaster where molten silver or gold can be poured to filled the space left by the ‘lost’ wax.


A spring loaded device holds the plaster cast ready for pouring the molten metal and when the catch is released the device spins in a circle. The centrigul force ensures the liquid silver or gold is pushed all the way into the mould and completely fills the space left by the wax. When the metal has cooled the plaster is broken away leaving a perfect copy of the wax carving in metal.


Stage Two


The newly formed silver or gold charm is examined and any final small touch ups are applied. After a final polish to remove any small imperfections the charm is ready to be used to create a rubber or silicon mould for mass production.


A small frame has a layer of rubber laid at the bottom and the charm is placed with the sprue touching one of the walls. Pieces of rubber tightly surround the charm and another layer is applied over the top of the charm. A lid is tightened onto the frame applying pressure to the rubber inside. The frame containing the rubber and the charm is placed into a heater that melts the rubber tightly around the charm creating a re-usable rubber mould. This mould is a block shape with a small hole at the edge where the sprue was positioned.


The mould is cooled and carefully cut around 3 sides to release the charm. The fourth side acts like a hinge helping to realign the mould when it is closed.  Straight cuts are not used, but rather curved cuts. This allows the two faces of the mould to more accurately realign.


Doing it all again


Now that we have a re-usable rubber mould, we can create any number of wax copies. The mould is opened and a small amount of mould release agent is applied. The mould is gently clamped and molten wax is poured in to create a new wax charm. This process is repeated until 10 or 20 wax replicas have been created.


A wax base with a stem provides space for attaching each of the wax copies by the sprues. This looks like a small tree with a charm at the end of each branch.


When the tree is complete with as many charms as needed it is placed in a container and filled with liquid investment as before. This time however we can produce many charms with a single pouring. Again when the plaster has hardened, the investment is placed in an oven that evaporates the wax.


The empty mould is then loaded into the centrifuge and a carefully calculated amount of gold or silver is heated to melting point ready to fill the mould. The metal is poured and the spring is released forcing the molten metal all the way into the spaces left by the lost wax.


As before the plaster is broken away from the tree leaving the charms connected to the tree by their sprues.


Final Steps


The sprue is cut near the charm and the small remaining tag is filed or ground away, leaving the charm. The tree with the majority of the sprues attached can be melted down again for re-use.


Each charm is inspected and any casting marks are removed by hand. The charms have jump rings fitted (and soldered if required) and are placed in a mild acid called a pickle for a few minutes. The charms are then thoroughly rinsed in water and placed in a tumbler. The tumbler is a barrel containing stainless steel shot – pins, balls and saucers. Water and a mild detergent are added to just cover the contents of the tumbler. This is then placed on a set of rotating rollers and left to run for 30 minutes to several hours.


The action of the stainless steel shot constantly hitting the charms is called burnishing. This fully removes any marks caused by casting, hardens the outer surface of the charms and creates a beautiful shine to the metal. The charm is then ready to ship to the customer.


 


 



The creation of charms

Wednesday 9 December 2015

Buying Jewellery for Children

chain lengthsIf you are going to buy ‘junk’ or costume jewellery for children, then you can stop reading now.


This article is all about the why’s and how’s of buying quality jewellery for children that they can love to wear for the rest of their lives.


Parents and grandparents often wish to purchase a gift for the youngsters to celebrate a very special occasion. Birthdays and christenings are the two most common events where an extra-special present is chosen.


Solid gold or sterling silver jewellery will last a lifetime.


Gold filled or gold plated chains are fine if you are only going to wear them once to a costume party. They are not something you will cherish for life.


Wouldn’t you wish that jewellery given for such an important event could be cherished and worn for the rest of their lives? Of course you would!


number 3 in Circle Charm (chr-3145)-335You may be wondering how a bracelet or necklace for a young girl is going to fit her when she’s grown up. After all, a necklace for a young child might only be 30cm or 35cm long, hardly suitable for a grown woman. A 40cm necklace is a ‘choker’ for most women and when choosing a gold necklace chain to sit high on the chest, 45cm or 50cm is a fairly typical length for an adult.


You could purchase a necklace made for a child, so that it fits now, but what happens as time passes? You would have to find a jeweller who could either find matching links to add in, or who could make extra links by hand if they weren’t available. That’s starting to look like it could get expensive.


Maybe you could purchase a longer chain that would be just the right length in 10 or 15 years? Not a bad idea, if you don’t want them to be able to wear it until they have ‘grown up’ and they have forgotten why it was bought in the first place while it sat in the drawer under their socks for so many years.


There has to be a better answer!


Of course there is, and we would like to share it with you. We have made many necklaces and bracelets for our customers, especially sized for the child to wear today.


We ask that they supply us with two sizes. The first is the length that suits the child today. You can be very tricky if it is a secret present, and we tell you how below!


The second is the length they will need as an adult. You can usually get a pretty good idea of what size will be needed from looking at the mother. What suits her will likely be a good match for her child when she has grown. If there is any doubt, add an extra 5cm for a necklace and 3cm for a bracelet. It’s is always better to have too much, than too little for a jeweller to work with.


We make the bracelet or necklace at the first length and supply the difference between the two lengths as loose chain. As the child grows, this extra chain can easily be added by a jeweller and it will match perfectly.


Why can’t I just buy more chain later?


Well, you could. But is it going to match? When chains are made by machines, a silver or gold wire is fed in from a spool and it gets cut to length, bent into a link and loops through the previous link to form a very long chain. Each link is then soldered closed, and the chain is cut into lengths for necklaces or bracelets and has the clasps fitted. After this the finished chain is polished. Tada, a brand new necklace or bracelet.


The machines that make these chains generally can be set up to make a range of different sizes. This means that two chains of the same style, made in a different batches are likely to be slightly different to each other. The individual links could be slightly longer or shorter, or wider or narrower. Normally the difference will be small, but it may be noticeable.


What is much more noticeable is when the alloy used to produce the gold wire is varied. More copper will make the gold appear redder, less copper will make the chain brassier. In any case the links in two pieces of chain are more likely not to be the same exact colour than a perfect match.

(We have another article about the colours of gold you may wish to read.)


So how do I keep it a secret?


Even small children are pretty clever and most will quickly work out that if you measure their wrist, it is probably for a bracelet, bangle or watch.


So we have to be cleverer! If you were to use a tape measure to get their neck size, the length of their arms, around the wrist and their chest measurement and wrote them all down, you would have all the information you need for both necklaces and bracelets.


If you like to play tricks on the kids, then you could explain you are going to knit them a jumper or make them a new jacket. Either way, it’s unlikely they will be suspecting they are being measured for a beautiful new gold bracelet.


So what size should I buy?


We have a more detailed article on our website that helps when deciding how to choose the right size for bracelets, bangles, necklaces and charm bracelets. Should you still have questions, our staff would be pleased to explain them for you.


 



Buying Jewellery for Children

Monday 7 December 2015

So you"re getting married!

25335_C20The big question has been asked and answered and all of a sudden your about to take a huge stride into a new and wonderful life. Congratulations!


You love the attention and the best wishes from your friends and family who are all looking forward to sharing your big day. The excitement is contagious and your girlfriends want to be involved and help you make it the most special day of your life.


But then, all of a sudden, you realise there is a massive task ahead of you. A wedding to plan.


The venue, who to invite, the flowers, the photographer, the food, the bar and who is going to be part of the wedding party? Chill. It’s going to be fine. Things may go a little wrong on the day, but it really doesn’t matter!


You’re there, your partner is there and the rings have been exchanged. It’s done and that’s what it is all about. The exchanging of vows and the step into a new and beautiful future.


Remember that even if things do go a little off plan, it always leads to the best stories that you will look back on and laugh. Seriously, you will, maybe not on the day, but later nothing is so bad that it won’t become a great part of the memory of the day that you took the plunge.


Having said that, you always want everything to go just right. You make plans, have backups in place and leave nothing to chance. Plan well ahead, keep on top of the people you are paying to provide services for the wedding and it will be fine. Follow up on their progress as the weeks pass and especially in the last couple of days before the wedding.


The Budget.


Unless your the child of Bill Gates, there is going to be a budget that you have to work within.


May I suggest you make cutbacks to the things that won’t last and spend a little more on the things that endure. The flowers that fill the church may look awesome on the day but where will they be next week? A great photographer will give you memories you can display for a lifetime. Get the idea? Are you guests going to remember more, that your invitations had gold leaf embossing or that the view over the river at the reception centre where they danced the away was magnificent?


W53237_CZThe bridesmaid’s Jewellery.


The bridesmaids are also really important in making sure the day goes well for you. They are your support network to be there to hug you and wipe away the tears when the stress levels rise and to make you laugh so hard that your mascara runs.


Traditionally, the bridesmaids are gifted jewellery to wear on the big day. It’s very important that it compliments the bride’s jewellery, as should the hair styles, dresses and bouquets.  It is very rare that a bridesmaids dress would ever be worn again but the same shouldn’t apply to the jewellery they wear. It doesn’t have to be expensive to make your bridesmaids look glamorous on the day and I’m sure they would really appreciate being able to wear the jewellery again and again in everyday life.


When selecting jewellery there are a few things that can make a huge difference. What is going to be noticed, especially in the wedding photos, will be what they wear from the chest upwards. A stunning but subtle necklace and a pair of elegant earrings will feature in every photo. Remember that they shouldn’t outshine the bride so simplicity is the answer here. Diamond stud earrings or solitaire drop diamond earrings are beautiful yet don’t steal the brides thunder. A fine silver or gold necklace with a matching pendant sets off the look to compliment the bride.


I’m sure that you would wish the bridesmaids to continue to wear the jewellery you give them for your special day. It would be a real shame if you chose poorly and they were never worn again. Gold and diamonds may well be beyond your budget, but sterling silver and cubic zirconias are likely not. It’s not easy to tell the difference, and good quality silver with crisp white stones won’t go out of style any time soon.


35418_CZ 35417_CZEven if you have chosen to wear yellow gold on the day, white gold or sterling silver for the bridesmaids creates a lovely contrast. The bridesmaids will all be adorned alike and if you wear a similar pendant, you will create a subtle look of consistency in the bridal party.


When selecting a necklace and pendant, it is important to consider how they will sit in relation to the neckline of the bridesmaid’s dresses. If your bridesmaids are similar builds, one length should be fine for them all. You may need to consider a slightly longer or shorter necklace to compensate for differences in their frames.


With the selection of either gold or silver earrings, studs won’t suit if the hair is falling around the ears. If the hair is swept back, then either drops or studs would be suitable.



So you"re getting married!