Lately, I have been working in gold rather than silver. As the price of gold has risen I've been collecting all those pieces of jewelry that I never wore and essentially scrapping them.
By scrapping I mean removing any gemstones, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, etc. and pulling them from their settings. Then the gold gets sent to a refiner. I get money for the gold scrap which I then set aside for purchasing pure 24
karat gold.
Once I have an ounce of pure 24 karat gold I alloy it, as I was trained by Freddie Kulicke, into a more workable mixture of 22 karat. This alloy is used for making wire, sheet, cloisonne wire and granules. Solder is used very infrequently in the pieces made from 22 karat gold. Most of the pieces get fused. For example the bezels in the earring shown here are fused together. Each granule and piece of wire is made by hand. Hundreds of granules are made and the wire and sheet is created with the use of a rolling mill to get the exact measurements needed.
Findings get a different alloy - 20 karat - again made in the studio with a rolling mill and drawplates. 22k is a bit too soft for ear wires and clasps.Working with high karat gold is immensely satisfying. It's actually easier than silver to manipulate. And the color is so gorgeous! I see why gold fever took hold of Pharoahs, Kings, explorers, miners and us.........!
If you are interested in a piece made from practically pure gold, perhaps with a sentimental gemstone or diamond that's been sitting in a drawer for years in an ugly old setting.....get in touch and I'll make you something fabulous!My email is: nancy@nancytroskejewelry.com
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2 comments:
I think diamond setting jewelry is a 18K gold the rest can be more like 22 and 24.Your piece with intricate filigree work looks very gorgeous and feminine.
I agree with you about the diamond setting. Thank you for your nice comment on my earrings. It really means so much to me that you found my work and complimented it!
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