Jewelry Making (Metal & Gemstone)

Essential beginner tools include jeweler's pliers (round-nose, chain-nose, and flat-nose), flush cutters, a jeweler's saw with size 2/0 blades, needle files, and a bench block. For soldering, you will need a butane or propane torch, silver solder (hard, medium, and easy), flux, and a fireproof soldering board or charcoal block. As skills advance, a flex-shaft rotary tool and a rolling mill greatly expand fabrication capabilities.

Lost-wax casting (cire-perdue) begins with carving or 3D-printing a wax model of the desired piece, which is then encased in a plaster-like investment material. The investment is heated in a kiln to burn out the wax, leaving a precise negative cavity into which molten metal—typically gold, silver, or bronze—is poured or injected centrifugally. The investment is then broken away to reveal the cast metal piece, which is filed, polished, and set with stones.

Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper (stamped .925), giving it the hardness and durability needed for rings, chains, and structural components that withstand daily wear. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, which is too soft for most wearable pieces but is valued for bezel strips in stone setting because it burnishes smoothly around cabochons. Most fabricated jewelry uses sterling silver as the primary metal.

The most accessible setting technique for beginners is bezel setting, where a thin strip of fine silver or gold is wrapped around the stone's girdle and burnished over the edge to hold it in place. Prong setting, which uses individual metal claws to grip faceted stones, requires more precision and tools like prong lifters and gravers. Channel and pave settings are advanced techniques typically attempted after mastering bezel and prong work.