Jewelry Arts Institute's Student of the Week- Shu Hsuan Tu

SumoMe

sterling silver with tourmaline

Congratulations to our latest Student of the Week- Shu Hsuan Tu. Her beautiful ring was made using wax and metals technique in combination. Let’s discuss how.

To achieve the greatest artistic freedom I believe a jeweler must embrace both metalsmithing and wax carving. Using only one method or the other can produce beautiful results but there will always be limits. Shu decided to learn both and this relatively simple ring shows how to get the best from both worlds. She used found organic materials like twigs and stems to cast into sterling silver and shape into this free form shank. Just to include a little pet peeve I hear a lot, the past tense of cast is cast NOT casted. There is no such word as casted in jewelry. Thanks for letting me get that out. Once she had cleaned up her casting and shaped it to fit her finger, we made her bezel. Now, although we could have cast her bezel from wax along with her shank I usually recommend against it. I have found that a cast bezel has to be a bit heavier than a fabricated bezel. ( .020 as opposed to .015) but more importantly our method of setting works much better on a fabricated bezel than a cast one. Judging the shrinkage allowance for the wax bezel on an irregular stone can be a bit tricky for students. Also, cast metal tends to be a bit crumbly when you are setting with a bezel roller. For these reasons I suggested fabricating the bezel and soldering it afterward to her shank. This method turned out beautifully, as you can see. This ring is only one example of how casting and fabrication can bring you the best of both worlds. We can explore this topic further in other posts with other pieces of jewelry but I think Shu’s example is a great opener. Well done!