The Ganoksin Project S i n c e 1 9 9 6 Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Techniques
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In This Edition:
- Mystery and Memory - The Jewelry of Sandra Enterline
- The Czars' Gold - Masterpieces of Russian Handicrafts
- Cultured Youth - The Use of Pearls in Cosmetics
- Wax Build-up Technique: Popular Textural Wax Designs
- Setting Gemstones in Wax
- Manufacturing Retailer Benefits from CAD/CAM
- General Jewelry Repairs Using ABI Mini Pulse Arc III
- Creative Cold Connections - Setting a Stone with no Soldering
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In This Edition of Tips From The Jeweler's Bench
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- Mystery and Memory - The Jewelry of Sandra Enterline By Patricia Harris and David Lyon
Since earning a BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1983, Enterline has narrowed her focus to a handful of simple shapes and forms and has emphasized construction so spare that it might almost seem severe. In the first decade of her career, she often made spheres, but found herself frustrated by what she calls the "industrial" feeling of the shape. Around 1992, she began elongating the halves. "If I raised them up a little bit more, it was an egg form," she recalls, noting that the shape still remained simple and abstract, yet was suggestive of the natural world. Since the early 1990s, she has evolved a library of signature forms-egg, sphere, truncated cone, cylinder, circular medallion, and four-lobed star fruit-that she repeats with endless variation. Each one employs a biomorphic geometry that straddles both the natural world and the constructs of mathematics....
Complete Story:
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- The Czars' Gold - Masterpieces of Russian Handicrafts By Peter Henselder
The Kremlin Armory houses unique collections of precious items that mirror the artistic wealth of the country and the relations with other peoples and regions. They include the fantastic testimonies to Russian goldsmith art from the 12th to the 20th century. The Czars' gold conveys an impressive overview of the development in the gold and silversmith crafts in the East of Europe. Each epoch contributed to the rich variety. The Kremlin Treasure Chamber is mentioned for the first time in the 14th century. The bijou owned by the Grand Prince Ivan Kalita form the basic inventory of the current collection. This is no coincidental development. This mention is linked to the ascendance of Moscow as a potent, central power Previously, marauding Mongols and Tartars had time and again led to destruction and had obstructed the development of Russian cities....
Complete Story:
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- Cultured Youth - The Use of Pearls in Cosmetics By Cara Woudenberd
Ginseng, green tea, and herb and oil extracts are just a few of the main ingredients in millions of cosmetics on the market today. And now pearls have entered the picture in a bigger way, hoping to take the cosmetics industry by storm. But the use of pearls in cosmetics is not a new concept. For thousands of years, people in Asia, especially in China and Japan, have been using pearl powder as a natural remedy to maintain the appearance of youthful skin. It has also been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a dietary supplement, usually in capsule form, to supply the body with amino acids and minerals....
Complete Story:
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- Wax Build-up Technique: Popular Textural Wax Designs By Minoru Azama
Aside from the visual pleasure one derives from a textured surface, the biggest benefit is the ease in finishing the cast piece. No filing, no burs, no abrasive points, and no scratch removal compounds are necessary. Simply use a wire brush on the flexshaft for a soft satin finish. If a mirror finish is desired, then go on to the polishing wheel....
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- Setting Gemstones in Wax By Gerald N. Lewy
The one of the most revolutionary advance in recent years, apart from the Laser soldering, is the method of "Setting Stones in Wax". It has "freed" up many impossible designs and allowing the manufacturer to forge ahead and create many difficult setting projects. Otherwise, that company might have had to re-design their ideas and to have the stones hand set. A jewellery company can now replicate each design with the same degree of accuracy and professionalism....
Complete Story:
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- Manufacturing Retailer Benefits from CAD/CAM By Mark B. Mann
At GLJW it's not unusual to see the sales staff wearing jewelers' aprons and optivisors at one of the 25 computers showing customers CAD layouts of a proposed design. Neither is it odd to see customers watching the mill shape their jewelry or a future bride e-mailing CAD renderings of her wedding ring to a fiance who lives in another state. Owner Jim Tuttle, a 19-year bench jeweler with an industrial engineering background, says the percentage the store makes with CAD/CAM has gone from 0% to 90% in three years....
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- General Jewelry Repairs Using ABI Mini Pulse Arc III By Mark B. Mann
This article covers routine repair and assembly projects accomplished using Mini Pulse Arc III. Tack-, fusion- and pulse-arc equipment settings will differ and are based upon the volume, amount of contact and alloy of the material you are working with. Practicing using like materials will give you a parameter for the settings required for your application. Keep a record of settings and tasks for future reference....
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- Creative Cold Connections - Setting a Stone with no Soldering By Tim McCreight
In the jewelry world the term cold connections usually describes mechanical joining techniques that are used to fasten together parts that cannot be soldered. In many cases, cold connections fall into a "layer-this-onto-that" approach. Cold connections are more than a roster of techniques - they can trigger new ways to think about design. By combining function, engineering, and aesthetics, cold connections lead us to fresh ideas. The pendant described here has only four parts but it uses three kinds of cold connections....
Complete Story:
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The Ganoksin Project
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