Non-Fiction Book Reviews

Book Review: Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers

By Sandy Amazeen Dec 7, 2011, 3:22 GMT

Your expert techniques with a silver liningA comprehensive guide, Silversmithing for Jewelry Makers details techniques, surface treatments, and innovations specifically designed for all jewelry makers working in silver, and especially focuses on the needs and interests relevant to metal-jewelry artisans. Explore basic skills as well as specialist techniques, including filigree, chasing, annealing, engraving, etching, casting, and much more.Plus, profiles of contemporary practitioners are included in every section, along with galleries ...more

This comprehensive guide to silversmithing introduces jewelry makers to an awesome variety of techniques that will make their work stand out. Whether your interest is wireworking and basic soldering or more challenging work such as casting, texturing, repousse, marrying different metals or filigree, all these techniques and more are presented. Crisp, clear color photography augments step-by-step instructions that include a materials list plus helpful hints and tips. Each chapter opens with an introduction clarifying the different techniques along with useful, general information as demonstrated by stone setting. That introduction identifies the three main types of gemstones, explains about stone evaluation, has easy guides to common gemstones and their hardness, types of cuts and then examines different types of settings before showing the techniques.

As this is meant to introduce techniques, don’t expect an exhaustive bench reference guide, instead, Bone has done an excellent job of providing a good basic guide that will allow would-be silversmiths to get an idea of the sort of work they wish to do and where to start. The gallery of fine finished silver work is certain to provide plenty of inspiration and with all the info provided here, who knows where your creativity could take you.