Jewellery Making with Silver and Gold

Learn how to work with silver and gold to add gold accents to your jewellery.

We start by learning the differences between the two metals. We look closely at how different carats of gold each have their own characteristics when working with them. This will inform students on which metal is most suitable to work with for a project.

We take a look at recycling precious metals and melt down your scrap silver and gold into ingots. We then transform your shiny new ingots into sheet and wire to work with.

Once you have prepared the necessary materials we move on to explore various approaches to creating gold accents within your jewellery designs. These approaches include

• Stone setting – how to use gold for stone setting.
• Keum-boo – how to fuse gold foil onto silver.
• Gold plating – how to use an electro-plating pen to plate silver with gold.
• Gold inlay – how to create surface patterns using gold.

Students will apply some or all of these new techniques to a jewellery piece of their own choosing with guidance from the tutor.

Throughout the course, you will have access to our fully equipped studio, which is stocked with all the tools and materials you need to create jewellery. You’ll also have the opportunity to work alongside other students, sharing ideas and inspiration and learning from one another.

What will I learn?

• Designing and planning a silver and gold jewellery piece
• How to properly use jewellers' tools
• Filing, sanding and finishing
• The basics of soldering silver and gold pieces together
• Creating settings for gemstones in silver and gold
• Techniques for texturing and shaping silver and gold
• Developing an eye for detail and quality craftsmanship
• Troubleshooting common problems

Materials

Course fees for our silver and gold jewellery course include solder and saw blades only. Metals, findings and a variety of stones are available for purchase at the school or feel free to bring your own to work with.

Students working in gold must purchase their own gold and gold solder. We do not carry gold at the workshop, however, we can order gold in advance of a term if required. Please contact us if you do intend to order gold from us.