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September to December 2011

September 2011 Lovely pair of Red spinel earrings with diamonds We also get to have fun and ma ke chunky silver pieces. Like this Amethyst and sterling silver piece. Taking a break from making serious jewellery ... October 2011 Challenging design brief for a family crest ring in sterling silver. November 2011 Each day is interesting and has its own challenges: Make a tiny bell 15mm x 10mm, and it must ring... December 2011 Brooch for baby Bailey... with a little diamond. Each baby girl should get her first diamond from her dad, don't you agree?

All that glitters Season 1, Episode 2

This post contains spoilers - please watch the episode first. Episode 2 (21 April) kicks off with one less jeweller, only 7 left, as Naomi was voted out last week at the end of episode 1.   The jewellers start with the first project for this week  - the best seller. Wait, what? They did that last week?!  Yes, I know, but it seems that the best seller, and the bespoke challenge is the set format for each episode, with just a change in theme. This week the best seller theme:  A chain collar (4 hours)           Specifications:  Must be 18inches (45cm) long, links must interlink, must sit comfortably on the collar bone.           They were given 15cm of 3mm sterling silver wire, and some silver casting grain (we call  them  granules) Honestly, I did not know specifically what a chain collar was.  Why they could not have said a short decorative chain, with 3 different links, no one knows.  But the fact that it must be an interlinking set of links (no jump rings!) was a bit vague, and I did

All That Glitters Season 1 Episode 4

  This post contains spoilers - please watch the episode first This week signals the start of the quarter finals with only 5 jewellers remaining. It is starting to become more evident that the jewellers should not only have great fabrication ability, but also strong design skills. The Bestseller challenge this week is to design a pair of hoop earrings.   The jewellers were given 9ct gold to work with in plate, wire or granule form. Hoop earrings have been ancient symbols of status and power for millennia.  These hoops must match perfectly, they can be open or closed, and they must sit on the ear beautifully. They were given 5 hours to manufacture these.  9ct Yellow gold is a very tricky metal to work in.  If you overheat your your granules and burn away the zinc, you have a red looking yellow gold, but not quite redgold colour.  With only 37.5% pure gold content, it melts easily when soldering for no reason, and tends to get very hard and brittle when overworked.  Unlike 14,18 and 22ct