crafts - Antique Jewelry

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Does any one have good sources on Antique Jewelry making techniques?

Ganesh wrote:
Does any one have good sources on Antique Jewelry making techniques?

Could you be a bit more specific, like in "What kind of antique jewelry?"

Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Etruscan, Egyptian,
European, Asian, Middle Eastern.

The variety is much too large to answer the question easily.

However, the short answer is, examine every piece of antique jewelry you
see or get to repair, very closely. By doing this, an experienced
goldsmith can usually figure out how it is made. Do this for many
years, and you will become quite good at making jewelry the way it was
made years ago.

A colleague of mine here in San Francisco, is one of the best "copiers"
of antique jewelry, and he is mostly self taught. He has literally
repaired many hundreds of pieces of antique jewelry over the last
several decades. By doing this he has learned how to copy pieces in the
style they were made.

Most recently, he had to replace a lost 18th century earring, which was
made of silver and gold, with rose cut diamonds. The result was
practically indistinguishable from the original. I was the only one of
6 colleagues who picked the copy from the original. (the color of the
gold ear wire was different from the original. The alloy of the copy
was more yellow than the original, which was only visible under certain
lighting conditions).

--
Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

Ganesh wrote:
Does any one have good sources on Antique Jewelry making techniques?

The word 'antique' means 'over 100 years old'.

Do you mean 'reproduction jewellery'?

If so you need to define a period and style.

--
William Black

"Any number under six"

The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
single handed with a quarterstaff.

On Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:56:59 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Ganesh
wrote:

Does any one have good sources on Antique Jewelry making techniques?

Most of the modern techniques of jewelry making, at least the traditional
"benchwork" methods, have roots in antiquity. Modern times have added better
steel for tools, electric motors and lights, torches, etc. But the basics
haven't changed all that much. If you understand jewelry making well by modern
methods, then careful examination of ancient works will usually give you a
fairly good idea of how things were made. But of course, some of the specific
methods will be different. For example, if you are used to setting stones with
a flex shaft motor and burs to cut the seats, and have never seen a manual bow
drill used, or seen a seat cut with and engraving tool, then that method may
not be apparent to you. Likewise, if you're used to making sheet and wire with
rolling mills and drawplates, then ancient methods using hammers to forge sheet,
or making wire by cutting a strip of sheet metal and then rolling, forming, and
stretching it, may also not be as apparent. If you're used to soldering with a
torch, then soldering using a furnace might seem strange. But in reality, the
things the metal is being asked to do is about the same in any of these cases,
only the specific tools change. And the effort and skills involved.

Some good references for background and history and the like might include Jack
Ogden's 1983 book, "jewelry of the ancient world", which gives lots of good
information that can help you identify old authentic pieces from modern
reproductions, as well as info on ancient metalurgy and methods. For more
modern information, such as the 1900s or so, find almost any of the old books on
goldsmithing by George Gee. These turn of the century (1900 or so) books
detailed the methods used in england at the time, which are pretty typical of
methods from the beginning of the industrial revolution up till then. The more
modern book, Herbert Maryon's "Metalwork and Enamelling" is still in print as a
Dover reprint. Maryon worked as a restorer and smith for the British Museum,
and his detailed text is a goldmine of both old and new methods. There are, of
course, many other fine books on goldsmithing or metalworking, all of which have
something to add. But these should give you a start. Ogden's book may be hard
to find. If you find a copy for sale, snap it up. It's worth the money.
Maryon's books is available, inexpensive, and good enough to recommend to any
interested jeweler, not just those looking to past methods. George Gee's books,
of course, are long out of print, but occasionally you'll find them in
libraries, or antique book stores, especially in England and Europe.

Hope that helps.

Peter Rowe

On Aug 25, 9:56 pm, Ganesh wrote:
Does any one have good sources on Antique Jewelry making techniques?

One way to accomplish this would be to use the books appraisers use -
one that a world renowned appraiser wrote is Cameos - Old & New - the
link to it on Amazon is:

http://www.amazon.com/Cameos-Old-Ann...289 &sr=3D8-1

There are books on Gold Filigree - books by period ie Victorian, Art
Deco, etc.

These books tell you what to look for when dating a piece - those are
the same details that would be important if you were trying to
reproduce or just create in the style of...

Robyn Hawk
http://facebook.com/aflyonthewallblogs

On Aug 26, 8:38=A0pm, Abrasha wrote:
Ganesh wrote:
Does any one have good sources on Antique Jewelry making techniques?

Could you be a bit more specific, like in "What kind of antique jewelry?"

Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Etruscan, Egyptian,
European, Asian, Middle Eastern.

I studying all of them.

On Aug 27, 10:05 am, Peter W. Rowe
wrote:

Most of the modern techniques of jewelry making, at least the traditional
"benchwork" methods, have roots in antiquity. Modern times have added better
steel for tools, electric motors and lights, torches, etc. But the basics
haven't changed all that much. If you understand jewelry making well by modern
methods, then careful examination of ancient works will usually give you a
fairly good idea of how things were made. But of course, some of the specific
methods will be different. For example, if you are used to setting stones with
a flex shaft motor and burs to cut the seats, and have never seen a manual bow
drill used, or seen a seat cut with and engraving tool, then that method may
not be apparent to you. Likewise, if you're used to making sheet and wire with
rolling mills and drawplates, then ancient methods using hammers to forge sheet,
or making wire by cutting a strip of sheet metal and then rolling, forming, and
stretching it, may also not be as apparent. If you're used to soldering with a
torch, then soldering using a furnace might seem strange. But in reality, the
things the metal is being asked to do is about the same in any of these cases,
only the specific tools change. And the effort and skills involved.

Some good references for background and history and the like might include Jack
Ogden's 1983 book, "jewelry of the ancient world", which gives lots of good
information that can help you identify old authentic pieces from modern
reproductions, as well as info on ancient metalurgy and methods. For more
modern information, such as the 1900s or so, find almost any of the old books

Thanks for the inputs provided. I wanted to study in-depth the old
methods.

On Aug 27, 10:05am, Peter W. Rowe
wrote:
On Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:56:59 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Ganesh

wrote:
Does any one have good sources on Antique Jewelry making techniques?

Most of the modern techniques of jewelry making, at least the traditional
"benchwork" methods, have roots in antiquity. Modern times have added better
steel for tools, electric motors and lights, torches, etc. But the basics
haven't changed all that much. If you understand jewelry making well by modern
methods, then careful examination of ancient works will usually give you a
fairly good idea of how things were made. But of course, some of the specific
methods will be different. For example, if you are used to setting stones with
a flex shaft motor and burs to cut the seats, and have never seen a manual bow
drill used, or seen a seat cut with and engraving tool, then that method may
not be apparent to you. Likewise, if you're used to making sheet and wire with
rolling mills and drawplates, then ancient methods using hammers to forge sheet,
or making wire by cutting a strip of sheet metal and then rolling, forming, and
stretching it, may also not be as apparent. If you're used to soldering with a
torch, then soldering using a furnace might seem strange. But in reality, the
things the metal is being asked to do is about the same in any of these cases,
only the specific tools change. And the effort and skills involved.

Some good references for background and history and the like might include Jack
Ogden's 1983 book, "jewelry of the ancient world", which gives lots of good
information that can help you identify old authentic pieces from modern
reproductions, as well as info on ancient metalurgy and methods. For more
modern information, such as the 1900s or so, find almost any of the old books on
goldsmithing by George Gee. These turn of the century (1900 or so) books
detailed the methods used in england at the time, which are pretty typical of
methods from the beginning of the industrial revolution up till then. The more
modern book, Herbert Maryon's "Metalwork and Enamelling" is still in print as a
Dover reprint. Maryon worked as a restorer and smith for the British Museum,
and his detailed text is a goldmine of both old and new methods. There are, of
course, many other fine books on goldsmithing or metalworking, all of which have
something to add. But these should give you a start. Ogden's book may be hard
to find. If you find a copy for sale, snap it up. It's worth the money.
Maryon's books is available, inexpensive, and good enough to recommend to any
interested jeweler, not just those looking to past methods. George Gee's books,
of course, are long out of print, but occasionally you'll find them in
libraries, or antique book stores, especially in England and Europe.

Hope that helps.

Peter Rowe

This one's very easy to make
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...uvre_AC924.jpg
Displayed at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewellery

On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:30:08 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Ganesh
wrote:

This one's very easy to make
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...uvre_AC924.jpg

with modern tools and methods, yes. Doing it with starting raw materials and
tools available to the 7th century byzantine goldsmith might be a bit more
daunting. A ring like that, for example, likely was not cast, so one would need
to have some skill with chisels or engraving tools to do the carving, and the
steel back then wasn't as good, not to mention the fact that the goldsmith would
have had to make his own tools beforehand. Remember, files for shaping metal
were not yet available either. Most forming would be with hammers... And
you couldn't just go to your metals dealer and buy ready to use sheet or wire...

Also, the niello (black) inlay isn't quite as simple to do as might seem,
especially with ancient technologies. Doable? certainly. But I think I'd take
the word "very" out from your sentance...

Peter

Peter W. Rowe wrote:
On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:30:08 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Ganesh
wrote:

This one's very easy to make
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...uvre_AC924.jpg

with modern tools and methods, yes. Doing it with starting raw materials and
tools available to the 7th century byzantine goldsmith might be a bit more
daunting. A ring like that, for example, likely was not cast, so one would need
to have some skill with chisels or engraving tools to do the carving, and the
steel back then wasn't as good, not to mention the fact that the goldsmith would
have had to make his own tools beforehand. Remember, files for shaping metal
were not yet available either. Most forming would be with hammers... And
you couldn't just go to your metals dealer and buy ready to use sheet or wire...

Also, the niello (black) inlay isn't quite as simple to do as might seem,
especially with ancient technologies. Doable? certainly. But I think I'd take
the word "very" out from your sentance...

We don't know what the original looked like.

We don't know what purity of gold was used.

The thing has a thousand years of wear and other detail placed on it.

How do you find out what the original looked like?

--
William Black

"Any number under six"

The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
single handed with a quarterstaff.