[Ganoksin] [Issue #149] Tips From The Jeweler's Bench

The Ganoksin Project
S i n c e 1 9 9 6
Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Techniques
http://www.ganoksin.com

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In This Edition:

1. World Mining Report - November/December 2005
2. Finishing: New Systems Offers Efficiency Advantages at the Bench
3. 950 Palladium: Selling Tips & Basic Servicing Procedures
4. 950 Palladium: Fashioning the Perfect Contrast
5. Fabricating a 950 Palladium Setting Using Tack-Welding Technology
6. Book Review - "Faberge and His Works"

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In This Edition of Tips From The Jeweler's Bench
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm

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New Book! - Making the Most of Your Flex-shaft
By Karen Christians

Making the Most of Your Flex-shaft is the one resource you'll need to
ensure you gain maximum advantage from your flex-shaft system. Learn
how to select the right system, how to choose and use the latest
accessories and attachments, and how to properly maintain your system
for extended life. See why so many jewelers are reading this book and
discovering what they didn't know about their flex-shaft systems!

Prime Sponsor: Rio Grande
Patrons: Foredom and 3M Inc

Price: $34.95 (Shipping: $5 USA, $9 International)

Get your own copy of Making the Most of Your Flex-shaft:
http://www.ganoksin.com/item--Orchid...-flexshaftbook

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1. World Mining Report
By Gordon Austin, Morgan Beard, Mick Elmore, Cara Woudenberg,
and Megan Zborowski

Colored gemstone mining is a hard thing to pin down. The vast majority
of mining is still done by independent, small-scale miners, working in
remote locations and selling to buyers who pay cash and may or may not
declare their gems on export. For many producing countries,
particularly in Africa, the real production from the mines probably
outstrips the reported production by a factor of 10 -- or 20, or
possibly 100. No one really knows. In compiling this report, we've
included estimates from both official and unofficial sources, but in
some cases there simply isn't any information available. This report
isn't intended as a comprehensive list of gemstone deposits; it's a
guide to the most active mining areas in the world right now, with the
humble acknowledgment that no matter how much we see, there's always
more out there....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...-report-05.htm

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2. Finishing: New Systems Offers Efficiency Advantages at the Bench
By Mark B. Mann

Pre-finishing, finishing, polishing and re-finishing have all been
tasks usually done with a flexible shaft at the bench and/or a motor
away from the bench. This article features methods and procedures used
for a variety of these projects - all done at the bench with bench top
equipment and flexible shafts with newly developed accessories and
innovative applications....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...eaktrhough.htm

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3. Selling Tips and Basic Servicing Procedures for 950 Palladium
Jewelry
By Mark B. Mann and Lainie Mann

Designers and manufacturers have embraced 950 palladium alloys for a
variety of jewelry manufacturing products. At the recent JA Jewelry
Show in New York, most prominent among the new 950 palladium products
were bridal lines featuring a wide selection of engagement rings and
wedding bands. Even though palladium is a platinum group metal,
consumers are largely unfamiliar with the metal. Here are some selling
points that will help introduce this lustrous white, bright and light
metal during sales presentations....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...ium-basics.htm

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4. Light, Bright, White 950 Palladium: Fashioning the Perfect Contrast
By Mark B. Mann and Lainie Mann

Striking differences between elements such as color, tone, texture,
reflection, refraction, pattern and shape create contrast. Contrast not
only enhances the qualities of each juxtaposed element, but can also
create a pleasing balance in a design. Jewelry designs featuring the
richness of yellow and the brightness of white metals offer consumers
another direction in expanding their jewelry wardrobe. For the jeweler
however, creating the intended contrast between yellow and white gold
usually involves a matte finish and rhodium plating on the white, with
the additional concern for allergic reaction due to the nickel in the
alloy. With yellow gold and platinum there is contrast, along with a
price tag that is prohibitive to many customers. The clear alternatives
are palladium alloys which offer a true white contrast to yellow gold
at comparable pricing. Belonging to the platinum group metals,
palladium shares the same hypoallergenic characteristics, purity of
color and lack of memory (a perfect stone-setting medium) as platinum,
though it is lighter in weight and more easily gives way to a bright
lustrous finish....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...-palladium.htm

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5. Fabricating a 950 Palladium Setting Using Tack-Welding Technology
By Mark B. Mann

This simple pendant design will be made with 950 palladium wire.
Tack-welding technology will be used to temporarily hold the prong
wires prior to soldering to the lower bezel gallery wire. The trillion
shaped Danburite weighs 6.4 carats and measures 13.35mm. No commercial
settings were available to accommodate this gemstone....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...-palladium.htm

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6. Book Review - "Faberge and His Works"
By Charles Lewton-Brain

Ever read an annotated bibliography? Its not normally thought of as
exciting reading by non-researchers. But if you are interested in the
works and life of Peter Karl Faberge this bibliography is worth trying.
It lists citations of written documents in which Faberge or his works
are mentioned. Each citation is accompanied by a more or less brief
paragraph describing the gist of the article. Citations include
advertisements, audiovisuals, journals, newspapers and more from before
1920 through 1992. They are arranged by decade so that the annotations
become a chronological history of mentions of Faberge in writing - what
artists today call 'documentation'. The descriptive annotations are
good, brief, livened by quotes from the article in question and the
rare hint of a personal opinion - this document is about information
and it is quite distilled. Interestingly 34% of the citations are from
the 1980's. Faberge has obviously become more important fairly
recently. There are 1772 entries in this book....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/faberge.htm

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7. New Book! - Making the Most of Your Flex-shaft
By Karen Christians

Volume One in the "Orchid in Print: Maximum Bench Work" Series. A
Collaboration between Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America and
The Ganoksin Project.

Making the Most of Your Flex-shaft is the one resource you'll need to
ensure you gain maximum advantage from your flex-shaft system. Learn
how to select the right system, how to choose and use the latest
accessories and attachments, and how to properly maintain your system
for extended life. See why so many jewelers are reading this book and
discovering what they didn't know about their flex-shaft systems!

Prime Sponsor: Rio Grande
Patrons: Foredom and 3M Inc

Price: $34.95 (Shipping: $5 USA, $9 International)

Get your own copy of Making the Most of Your Flex-shaft:
http://www.ganoksin.com/item--Orchid...-flexshaftbook

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