Beads
What are lampwork beads?
What are seed beads?
Why are lampwork beads annealed?
Chains
How are the chains made?
Do you tumble your jump rings?
Why do you use decimal inches rather than metric measurements for your rings?
Kits
What is included in your kits?
What is the tag in the pictures, and is it included in the kit?
Why do you make kits with NuGold and copper if they tarnish so rapidly?
Metals
What metals do you use?
What is fine silver?
What is Argentium® 930 Silver?
What is 14/20 gold filled?
What is 14 karate gold?
What is Niobium?
What is NuGold?
What is copper?
Miscellaneous
How can I remove tarnish from sterling silver jewelry?
How do you ship?
Do you ship internationally?
Historically lampwork beads were beads made by melting and forming raw glass over the open flame of an oil lamp. Today a torch is used to heat glass rods to over 1700 degrees fahrenheit. The molten glass is wound on a mandrel (a stainless steel rod) and shaped into a bead using gravity and various tools.
I use "soda-lime" glass and properly anneal the beads in a bead kiln.
Seed beads are manufactured small beads (like small round seeds). They come in many colors and range in size from 11/0 to 15/0.
When a bead is annealed it is heated to a temperature which allows the molecules of the glass to rearrange themselves, reducing internal stress, thereby tempering and strengthening the bead.
We use Argentium® 930 Silver, fine silver, 14/20 gold filled, 14 karate gold and niobium materials in our jewelry. We also use NuGold, and copper materials in our kits.
Fine silver, or 99.9% silver, is too soft for most jewelry uses, although we do use it for bezels, casting, and in other specific areas.
Argentium® 930 Silver is a firescale-free, tarnish resistant sterling silver alloy. Sterling silver is at least 92.5% silver and the rest is usually copper. In Argentium® 930 Silver some of the copper is replaced with Germanium which makes it very tarnish resistant. However, all silver will eventually tarnish.
14/20 gold filled material is made by heat and pressure-bonding 14 karate gold to a brass core. The material we use is 14/20 gold filled. That means it is 5% 14 karate gold by weight. Gold filled material has an actual layer of gold covering the core, rather than just the microscopic layer as does gold-plated material, and is much more durable.
14 karate gold is an alloy of 58.33% (14/24ths) gold and other metals, most likely silver and copper.
Niobium is a metal that can be anodized to some brilliant colors. However, the color is only in a very thin surface layer that can be damaged by rough handling.
NuGold, also called red brass, Merlin's Gold, and Jeweler's Bronze, is an alloy that usually contains 85% copper and 15% zinc. It tarnishes similar to copper. I have pieces that have been in my sample trays for several months that barely show a tarnish. However, when in contact with the skin, it may start to tarnish in just days. It is very dependent on the chemistry of the wearer, including lotions, perfumes, etc.
Copper is a very soft metal that is good for practicing the weaves. It tarnishes quite rapidly and the speed of tarnishing is very dependent on the chemistry of the wearer, including lotions, perfumes, etc.
We make kits using NuGold and copper so our students can learn, and practice, a new weave, to see if they like the completed piece before investing in precious metal for a project. NuGold is also a little harder than copper, so the sample project is more durable than if it was made out of copper.
For our ring chains we start by wrapping wire around a mandrel to form a coil of the correct inside diameter for the rings we need to make the chain. The coil is then cut perpendicular to the wrapped wire to form rings. Each ring is opened, inserted through other rings to form the interlocking chain pattern, and closed. The ring ends are butted together, although some rings that might be stressed, e.g., connecting to the clasp, will be soldered closed.
Chains which involve multiple rings between links are not generally soldered unless there is an obvious structural weakness caused by not soldering the link.
No, we wait until the project has been completed and then tumble the whole item. Burnishing actually moves metal to smooth the surface, and therefore it would tend to round the edges of the cut in the rings and make the joint slightly more visible. Burnishing the joints after they have been closed really helps to conceal the joint in a well closed ring. Any burrs on the jump ring will be easily and quickly removed by tumbling the whole item.
We use decimal inches, rather than metric measurements, because using mandrels in 64ths of an inch provides a smaller increment between sizes than the 0.5mm increment commonly available with metric sizes. We do also use 3mm and 5mm sized mandrels to fill a couple of gaps in the smooth increase of the smaller jump rings. Remember, inches may be converted to millimeters, and visa-versa, quite easily with a calculator. Simply multiply inches by 25.4 to get millimeters, or divide millimeters by 25.4 to get inches.
Our kits include detailed directions, jump rings, and findings. They include any metal beads required, but in general do not include the glass beads. Please refer to our list of recommended tools for the tools you need.
The tag in the pictures is my Trademark, and the quality mark for the metal. No, it is not included in the kit. It only appears on finished pieces that I have made. Note that the FTC Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries state that if quality mark is present a Trademark, or name, must also be present.
We use Goddard's Silver Polish liquid (#707184), or Goddard's Silver Polishing Cloth (#707684), to remove tranish and put the final shine on our finished pieces.
Within the United States we ship via USPS Priority Mail. Orders under 2 pounds will have a $4.95 shipping charge added to the shopping cart at checkout. Orders 2 pounds and over will have a $10.35 shipping charge added to the shopping cart at checkout.
Sorry, we no longer ship outside the United States. There are just too many rules and regulations, particularly related to precious metals.