Worldskills Competition

This is the first project from Stage 8 of the Apprentice program at Jewellery Training Solutions, a stage dedicated to learning advanced cutting skills and advanced setting construction. This project was one from a regional competition of the Worldskills Competition, an international competition for apprentice jewelers. The participant is given a schematic and a set amount of time to create the piece, and is judged on a number of different factors including whether the measurements exactly match the drawing, finishing, and soldering. The piece is to be submitted without stones and with a satin finish.

What were the challenges?

This piece was very intimidating to start, but I really enjoyed the process. The most difficult part was doing the ajour cutting. This was my first time, and obviously it is going to take a lot more practice. Also, fitting the frame exactly to the top was definitely challenging. There’s no room for error since the frame cannot be failed since it would change it’s measurements. After completing the piece and photographing, I went on to set the stones for added practice. I need a lot more practice with stone setting!

Where could I improve?

I had an unfortunate mix up with the wire. I thought I had grabbed square silver wire, and I rolled it down to the correct dimensions and then annealed it. I don’t pickle my wire and sheet while I’m rolling, so it was pretty oxidized. Once I pickled the piece when it was all done, the bottom frame came out pink, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on - the silver was fine, so it wasn’t that my pickle was contaminated. Turns out, the silver wire was not silver! I’m actually not positive whether it’s brass or gold, although I’m pretty sure it’s brass. I need to get a metal test kit. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with how this came out. The ajour work is rough, and I need to really practice that. A couple of the seams could be better as well. But the measurements of the piece are pretty spot on, which I was happy about.

What did I learn?

One thing I learned was to make sure I’m using the correct metal! I also learned how to cut ajour work, so I’m excited to continue to practice that. It sure adds a beautiful finishing touch to the piece. I had a lot of trouble flush setting the stones, so I ended up trying a bead setting for the first time. The stones seem to be nice and solid now, and I actually am happy with the added sparkle it gives the front of the piece.