As the Semester Ends

SumoMe

1^st

As the semester ends, we (the first semester students) are amazed at how quickly the time has gone by! We’ve had fun getting to know each other and have enjoyed hearing the stories Mrs. Omori tells as she tries to instill in us the importance of safety as we work. After cutting out geos, stars, and other miscellaneous shapes, we were happy to start making the chain for out bracelets and are really enjoying that project. We start on the box catch today and are looking forward to completing it. Then start the assembly of our final bracelet project. We are really looking forward to second semester!

By Norma Steadham

2^nd

When this semester began we didn’t realize quite how much we would learn, through the first half to the semester where you build on the basic repair skills you started to learn in first to casting and man do we have a lot to learn about that! We have it all figured out….well trying really hard anyway. Injecting waxes and spruing is a whole new world where you have to meticulous and look at the big picture all at the same time. Learning how we can manipulate the waxes to cast without porosity, investing and getting all the measurements exact for the perfect investment, then finally getting to do the actual casting, which is the most fun. Praying the whole time we don’t forget a step and change the desired results to make sure we have metal to turn in. We have 98 pieces to cast and clean up in eight weeks! Oh the stress, but we will live, learn, and get through it.

By Melissa Walden

3^rd

As we started third semester (stone setting) we all thought we had been through trial by fire and were ready for this! Boy, were we wrong! Stone setting is a completely new technique with all kinds of variables, but it can also teach us to be better and stronger jewelers. We started out with bright cuts and prong settings. Somewhere in the middle we learned to channel set and set some five stone fishtail rings. Now as the semester is winding down we are learning bezel and tube settings. Although we have struggled, we have all learned a valuable lesson: never underestimate stone setting!

By Haley Hughes

4^th

In fourth semester we are coming down the home stretch. With 3 weeks left in our TIJT career we are excited to finish up our last project and gear up for graduation! The pressure is on with the final moment of truth looming around the corner, better known as the JA (Jewelers of America) test. This is for all the marbles; the moment we have all been waiting for is finally upon us. After that the weight of the world is off our shoulders and great opportunities lie ahead in the future. It’s been a marathon and now we can finally see the finish line!

By Steven Duncan

Bench Tech Program

The Bench Technician program at TIJT has been updated over the past few years benefiting the student and jewelry industry standards of accuracy and speed. The layout of the program hasn’t changed much giving concentrated time to learning the basics and building on those good qualities from the first semester forward. Just like the four semester program, bench tech begins with the first semester of Jewelry with simple layouts and measurements. This moves into sawing, filing, emery/good polishing techniques, and soldering/torch work. The basics are given a lot of time because there needs to be a good foundation when working up into the more complex designs, and repair work, that a jeweler faces every day. Some fabrication and basic repair projects are started in the first semester, such as ring sizing, heat control in soldering different pieces of brass together, and building a bracelet and box catch.

The beginning of the second semester bench tech program consists of repair. The majority of work done in most every-day jewelry stores is the repairs to items that customers will bring in for some type of rework/repair or even a good cleaning. The projects in the second semester range from building a cluster pendant, chain repairs, castings clean-up, ring sizing, and retipping, to name a few. Also, fabricating smaller parts and pieces that tend to break down on jewelry over time. This plays a big role, because it is a great skill to learn for quick fixes. The instructor is great at showing the best techniques and setup for each project, as well as time spent learning about the tools, variations on how to use them, or what will get the job done fastest.

The student then moves into the stone setting portion of the bench tech program. This last section concentrates on graver work with bead/bright cut setting, four and six prong settings, and bezel settings. These projects are repeated for accuracy and then the student can move into working with gold. The bench tech must get ready for the Jewelers of America exam which is a written and hands-on exam given at the end of the class.

Cole Love

Horology

The semester is winding down, but all the watchmakers are winding up our projects. Our first semester friends are learning the importance of truing staffing, poising, oiling, and timing. Truing is the process of straightening a bent wheel. The watchmaker would, with a piece of peg wood, straighten the bent arm of the wheel. After they true the arm of the wheel they will staff the wheel to balance it. Staffing is the process of replacing a broken staff in the wheel. The watchmaker will choose a new staff by measuring the variation of the staff. Variations include the type, size of the hairspring shoulder, size of the roller table and even the pivots. After the correct staff is picked the watchmaker will use a staking set to staff the wheel. Then they will choose a rounded face punch and two flat faced punches to staff. They will then use a hammer, pick the staffing pad off the table with a flat faced punch facing up and the staff set in the wheel, a round faced punch then will be lowered on to the staff and the hammer will be used. After it is punched round it will be punched flat. To check they hold the staff with tweezers and with pithwood they will push the wheel around making sure the staff doesn’t move. After that they will poise the wheel in which a special tool will be used, it is a poising tool with a tripod like shape and ruby jaws as well as two adjustable hind legs. They will use a blower to roll the balance across the jaws then they will wait to see it rock. Then they use the pithwood to pick up the balance and the bottom is the heavy spot they will file. They will repeat this until it doesn’t rock after being run across the jaws. After that the balance will return to the bridge and break into the watch. Oiling a watch is a precision job because too much or not enough will affect the watches performance. The watchmaker will grease the setting mechanism and the barrel bridge area. Then oil the jewels, all of them but the roller jewel. The oiler mostly used is the black oiler because it is the smallest and easiest to control. After oiled the watchmaker will use two timing machines, the first is electric and has a digital screen to count the beat and speed. The speed and beat can be changed by the repositioning of the regulator and the beat regulator. This process is easy to perform due to simple moving of the regulators.

Second semester watchmakers are going through the 16 point check system of a watch. Each piece is treated like a customer’s watch. The 16 point check system is in many ways a fail safe for the watchmaker. The system is as follows: find manufacturer’s name, find caliber number, look for damaged parts, look for necessary repairs, order materials that are needed, check main spring, check train wheels, check for kick back with barrel, oil, escapement, check balance, time it and put in beat, replace cannon pinion, replace dials and hands, case the movement, and a 24 hour run down test.

Third semester is working on learning the automatic mechanism. This is taking a mechanized watch one step further. The automatic watch has a winding weight in it that at that moves to wind the watch while a person wears it. This is a popular movement for a busy person. Third semester watchmakers will take it apart, clean it, time it, and put it back together.

By Jon Wiley

CAD/CAM

Learning CAD/CAM has been so out of my comfort zone but I couldn’t be happier that I chose to take the course! It opens up your brain and makes you think more creatively. It has definitely been a struggle but every day I’m making progress and becoming more familiar with the program (Matrix 7). I am so grateful that CAD/CAM is available for us as another way to broaden our knowledge in the world of jewelry.

By Jesse Berry

Gemology

Gemology is beginning the much anticipated study of diamonds this week! The class will learn the ins and outs of grading diamonds along with history, culture, and fashioning of these highly prized gems. Before this, the Gemology class completed the identification of 500 gemstones and began collectible gemstones. During the identification process the students have learned a plethora of skills. Such as successfully acquiring refractive index readings of gemstones, the specific gravity using the hydrostatic method and heavy liquids, identifying inclusions specific to particular stones, and how to identify a natural from a synthetic. For instance if a stone is synthetic the inclusions will point you to the process by which it was formed. The students acquire a background of scientific information along with folklore and culture that creates a well-rounded understanding of gemstones.

By Jessica Walla