Showing posts with label 925. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 925. Show all posts

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Newsletter Give-Away!


I've just started a quarterly newsletter. It comes out each season (4 times a year) plus I send you a great coupon on my birthday. If you sign up for my newsletter by September 1, 2010, I'll enter you to win a sterling silver stacking ring. I'm giving away one sterling stacking ring. Just enter your email address here: http://eepurl.com/KruT

You'll learn tips on silver and goldsmithing, how to tell if gems are real, get peeks inside my studio, and learn of new products. And every season, you'll be automatically entered to win some of my jewelry!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Sterling Silver Stacking Ring Celebration!


I'm having a sterling silver stacking ring celebration! 9 sterling silver stacking rings for $45 plus free shipping to the U.S. and Canada. I love hammering out these little rings.

Do you want to know how I make these rings? Here's instructions on how to make sterling silver stackable rings!

Materials Needed:
16 gauge sterling silver round wire, half-hard
blow torch, propane or butane
fire brick or soldering pad
jewelry pickle (see my organic pickle recipe) in a crockpot
jewelry tumbler with steel shot and ivory soap chips
silversmith's anvil
silversmith's hammer
steel ring mandrel
jeweler's file
400 grit sandpaper
600 grit sandpaper
jeweler's cutting pliers or jeweler's saw
hard silver solder (you can use sheet, wire, or paste. i'm using sheet solder)
flux
copper tongs

Instructions:
1. With the cutting pliers, cut the length of sterling silver 1-2 sizes smaller for the ring size you want using a ring sizing chart.
2. File the ends of the wire with the jeweler's file.
3. Bring the ends together to form a circle.
4. cut a silver solder chip and put it underneath the ring.
5. spray the flux on the ring or dab flux on using a paintbrush
6. Heat ring with a blowtorch in a circular motion.
7. Wait for ring to cool, then put in hot pickle.
8. Once ring is shiny again, take it out of the pickle using copper tongs. You must use copper, not any other metal tongs, for this.
9. Sand or file any rough edges.
10. Hammer the ring on the anvil horn to get a rough shape
11. Hammer the ring on the ring mandrel to get the size
12. Lay the ring flat on the anvil. Tap it gentle to make sure that it is straight when it lies flat. This is called "trueing" the ring.
13. Put the ring in the jewelry tumbler half full of water and add ivory soap flakes. Tumble for a half hour.

Your ring is done!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

What does the .925 Mean On Sterling Silver?



The .925 you see stamped on jewelry means that it's sterling silver. .925 means that it is 92.5% silver, with the rest of the alloy being mainly copper. Sterling silver is tougher than fine silver. (Fine silver is 100% silver). Sterling silver works well for rings and for jewelry that needs strength. Fine silver is used mainly for pendants that do not need to be made out of a strong metal.