Hollow jewellery should be appreciated for the technical skill required to make it either by hand or machine. Hollow work means a piece can be lighter than expected. This lends itself to larger sculptural works that remain comfortable to wear.

The challenge with hollow designs is that they can be difficult to fix if dented. Pulling out a dent in a hollow piece requires attaching a rod to the area that is dented, usually by soldering, heating the area and trying to pull the rod holding the dent outwards. The rod is then removed, and the piece can be refinished.

If the piece is sealed, the goldsmith will need to make a hole somewhere before heating to let the air escape. This process is difficult to trouble shoot; be sure to consult a goldsmith with extensive repair experience before attempting to restore a piece like this.

’20 Tips on maintaining our Jewellery’, Gillian E. Batcher, 2013

Old work, edited long ago and now posted – Alexis

Hello! this is Soccorro Dias, a long time jeweler and an expert on repairing precious antiques . I work in a variety of metals such as silver, bronze, gold and brass, if you are missing a piece and need to duplicate it we are able to use different techniques of Robotics such as C.N.C. machining and modeling as well as the casting expertise of the jewellery industry to do this. Look forward to serving you, Soccorro Dias.

There are stick pins, fibula, hinge pins, clutch backs, and many variations on each of these.

The main thing to look for is that the pin backs are made from a material strong enough to support the weight of the jewellery. If the pin back is made from sterling silver or gold it can only support light pieces of jewellery, unless it has a thicker wire than the average pin backing. If the wire is nickel or stainless steel it can be narrower in diameter and still support the weight of the decorative side of the pin without warping.

Think about the clothing you want to wear the piece on and make sure the pin going through your clothes is the right size to stay in place and not damage the fabric or knit.

’20 Tips on maintaining our Jewellery’, Gillian E. Batcher, 2013

Hi everyone! It’s been a fabulous few days with full sun here in Toronto and temperatures between 1-10c. I hope you have all been soaking up all the Vitamin D you can. According to the ground hogs, it seems like we are getting an early spring!

Anyhow, not sure if anyone has ever heard of the prestigious Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. 3 of our goldsmiths here at Jewel Envy are attending the show; Gillian Batcher of Pash Jewellery, Hayat Rahal of Hayatii Gold and Jennifer Trotman of Frekkel Designs.

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show was founded in 1955 and is said to be the largest, oldest and most prestigious gem and mineral show in the world. There is something there for everyone whether its faceted gemstones, beads, fossils, minerals, crystals bigger than a human or dinosaur bones! Not only are there things to buy but there are many events you can attend too plus classes. This place is basically a goldsmith’s dream. I hope to attend next year!

The dates for this years show is from January 16-February 11th and every year there are about 4000 vendors and 65,000 visitors. This also is not just one show but around 50 shows.

have a great day!

Eunice

There are a variety of earring styles readily available and different ones will suit different people.

Earrings posts and hooks need to be thick enough to keep their shape when pushed into and pulled out of the ear, but not too thick that they stretch your holes.

Sterling silver should be between .7mm and .9mm in diameter, whereas gold can be .6mm to .9mm in diameter.

The actual thickness should also relate to how heavy an earring is; a heavier earring requires a stronger hook or post.

For post earrings you have a choice of a smooth wire with a butterfly back, or a threaded wire with a screw-back. Threaded posts with a screw-back are stronger but tend to be on the thicker side. You will most often find them in higher end earrings but can request them for pieces made to order in sterling silver.

Many people have sensitive earlobes and costume jewellery causes their ears to swell. This is most often because of the nickel content in costume jewellery. Although sterling silver does not have nickel, it can still cause a reaction in the earlobes of some people due to the copper in the alloy. To avoid this look for earring posts and hooks that are hypoallergenic. Search out stainless steel for less expensive jewellery and rhodium plating for sterling silver or nickel white gold jewellery.

Rhodium is from the platinum group and is hypoallergenic.

Rhodium plating can wear off over time so check that the piece can be re-plated if necessary or opt for the more expensive palladium white gold version (or full platinum) which will be hypoallergenic.

’20 Tips on maintaining our Jewellery’, Gillian E. Batcher, 2013