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 yellow which are amazing metals to work with.

I  already give them kudos for just working with 9ct.

Lee's cosmic swirl inspired hoops were a bit lacking, and he did not manage to finish them properly.  He seems to be struggling with 3D spatial perception.   This is where the design factor comes in, and being able to visualize your pieces in full 3D in your mind before interpreting them on paper, and finally manufacturing.

Hugo's dragonfly concepts were excellent.  While his design and fabricating abilities are good, he struggles with calculating the sizes and lengths of his finished pieces.

Dan had a good plan with the flowing shapes and executed them well, but it is still a bit on the safe side in terms of design.  He has years of soldering experience and his finding (ear wire clip) was perfect.

Sonny in turn had an inspired idea to make ancient hammered hoops.  His soldering was nerve wracking to watch, but he managed to pull it off.  He sidestepped the making of a finding by just attaching a pin. Don't know if this would be a real bestseller, they would be quite expensive to make as they are solid and heavy.  No one would hand hammer let's say 30 - 50 pairs of these babies.

Tamara, oh Tamara.  I liked her use of punch and die to form the hollow shapes.  She did underestimate the time as always, and her soldering let her down.  The hammered effect she wanted to add would have made them so much more special.

Lights off for Tamara and Lee.

Bespoke challenge - 4 hours

Design an make a keepsake locket for stem cell donor, from her transplant recipient.  It must symbolize rebirth, it can be any shape but must have a small space for a keepsake. It must have a hinge and clasp, and of course a bail to hang from a chain.  2 x 9ct Yellow gold sheet (unknown thickness).

Hugo's was predictable with his piercing and signature texturing.  Sonny was clearly inspired by the birth of his baby with an egg shape.  I liked that Dan tried to be different, but his shape reminded me a bit of a coffin.  Tamara kinda just handed something in.  Lee did not have a great design to begin with and his manufacturing did not go as planned and he did not quite finish.

Dan and Hugo clearly have made hinges before - they used good manufacturing practice.

Sonny's pendant was chosen by the client, Hugo was jeweller of the week, and Lee was sent home.

"When you remove the fear of the impossible, you  can make anything" Shaun Leane

Here are MY predictions for the rest of the series:  Ladies and Gentlemen, Place your bets!

Tamara is next to leave.  With the challenges getting harder and harder, she is just not going to make it.

Dan is after her.  I think because he is not a strong designer, and he is not young and good looking enough to be made a celebrity with all the publicity after the show.

Then it is between Sonny and Hugo, they are both young, attractive, strong in design and fabrication, and at the start of their careers.

See you after the next episode.

Share your thoughts in the comments!