Edinburgh jeweller

Samples from my taster class in silver clay, suitable for beginners I regularly see questions in the facebook metal clay groups about which metal clay to try as a newbie. Firstly, if you are a newbie to metal clay - welcome! Metal clay is a fantastic material to use to make jewellery. It is flexible and easier on the hands than sheet metal and can be used at home with minimal tools. Of course there are lots of tools you COULD buy - but that's for another post! BUT if you start out with the wrong clay you can quickly become disheartened and decide it's not for you and that would be a shame. Choosing the right metal clay to start with may feel a little daunting as there are a few different brands and many different metals available including fine silver, sterling silver, bronze, copper, gold, brass and steel. As a newcomer to metal clay you might look at the prices of these clays and think, well copper and bronze are cheapest so I'll start with them. I think this is a ...

This blog post  is being reblogged (and slightly modified) and was originally written for the London Jewellery School blog and published on 27th May 2014 Silver and gold metal clays have been obtainable since the 1990s but other metal clays are now on the scene. Here is some information about what is available. Pieces made by me from PMC silver clay Silver Silver clay is a putty like substance made up of silver particles, a binder and some water. It can be rolled, textured and worked in a similar way to ceramic clays. Once it is dried it can be fired with a butane torch or in a kiln. The resulting piece is 999 fine silver and of hallmark quality. The two main manufacturers of silver clay are Aida (Art Clay) and Mitsubishi (PMC) . I have used both clay types and tend to buy whichever is cheaper at the time! I don’t have a particular preference. Silver clay is available in different forms - lump clay, syringe, paste and paper. Sterling silver Sterling silver i...