Edinburgh jeweller

Sapphire and fine silver ring made by me! Many jewellery makers haven’t heard of silver clay. It is a moldable material made from silver particles, an organic binder and a bit of water. Once the clay is dry it can be fired with a torch or in a kiln to burn away the binder to leave silver. It is a flexible way of working with silver and I’m often asked if stones can be pressed into the clay and fired. Sadly it’s not as simple as that! Some stones can be fired in place, others are damaged by the heat of the kiln/torch and these stones need to be set in a more traditional way familiar to silversmiths e.g. using a bezel setting. However, there are some stones that can be set and fired in the clay and here is some advice about using these. Cubic zirconia Cubic zirconia are manmade stones that come in different shapes, sizes and colours. They are a very flexible stone for silver clay as they can be fired in place, both with a torch or in a kiln. Hints You do need to be w...

Throughout 2014 the London Jewellery School is running a charity campaign in aid of cancer research . Some of the tutors have been personally affected, having been diagnosed and successfully treated for cancer so it is a cause close to us all. The goal of the campaign is to raise £10,000 for the charity and make 1000 cocktail rings. There are a number of ways to get involved. 1. Make a cocktail ring You can pay a £5 donation for a tutorial to learn how to make your own cocktail ring . If you do so you are asked to email a photo of it to info@londonjewelleryschool.co.uk and this will be uploaded to the flickr page The aim is to have 1000 photos of rings made by the end of the year (you can see two that I have made for the campaign in the photo below!) 2. Come along to an event For a £10 donation you can come along to one of our events and make a cocktail ring. The dates for this are 16th March 10-5 6th July 10-5 23rd November 10-5 3. Attend an evening drop in sessio...

I was asked to write a step by step jewellery making tutorial by the London Jewellery School . It is now available for free on their blog! It was good fun to do but I found it difficult to photograph as the tiger tail (cord) that I was using is so fine. In the end I used wool in most of the photographs to make sure it was clear what the steps were. My boyfriend Gary from Crafty websites did the photography and I think they have come out very well. Have a go and send me a photo of your finished necklace! Click here to see the free tutorial One of my action photos!

I have been working on my first ever tutorial for the London Jewellery School ! The London Jewellery School has a free projects page with different tutorials written by teachers on the staff. I have been thinking of writing one for ages but finally got it finished! It is for a French knit necklace like the one pictured. I'm not sure when the step by step project will be published but I'll let you know as soon as it is!