The Art of Stone Inlay

A Durable Jewelry Accenting Technique

Students at TIJT took part in a stone inlay class taught by Kyung Huh, a third semester student during a learning luncheon. The participants learned how to use crushed stone to accent concave and/or recessed portions of a cast bronze ring.

Using a small slab of stone (these students used jet – a soft, black stone), a marble bowl and grinder are used to crush the stone into a powder. The powder had to be ground to a very fine consistency, free of large fragments. The jewelry piece that the stone was to be applied to was thoroughly clean and free of dust. A two-part, 5 minute epoxy was mixed with a popsicle stick or toothpick and the powdered stone was combined until a thick glue-like texture was achieved. Because the epoxy starts to harden within five minutes, the stone/epoxy mixture had to be applied quickly. The mixture was applied to the cavity or recess of the piece and packed down to make sure air bubbles were released and the whole opening filled. The stone inlay protruded from the top of the opening slightly. Once all the openings were filled with the jet/epoxy mixture, the rings were set aside to dry until the inlay was hard to the touch. From here, the rings were filed until the top of the stone sat flush with the ring surface and then polished.

Approximately 10 TIJT students attended Kyung’s stone inlay class and all enjoyed learning a unique way to accent a piece of jewelry with stone inlay as opposed to tradition gemstones, enamel, etc.

Kyung will be teaching an electroforming learning luncheon and possibly another stone inlay class this semester. Other very interesting and unique classes will also be taught, such as Internet Marketing taught by Stephanie (CAD CAM) and Precious Metal Clay taught by Sally (2^nd semester). Watch for dates, classes and pricing information on the bulletin board and sign up for one or all of these classes taught by fellow students to further your jewelry-making knowledge!