Metalsmiths in Florence, Part I

I had the incredible opportunity to spend 10 days in Florence, Italy this past October, working with a master goldsmith. I took part in a class called Metalsmiths in Florence, organized by Monica Cardone, of Ciao Monica. The classes were held in Officine Nora, a coworking studio in the heart of Florence. This class focused on alloying 18K gold, using the jeweler’s saw and engraving. These are things that I thought I had some experience with, but I felt like a total newbie. I learned so much, and am so grateful for the opportunity!

I think the biggest thing I learned in class is that less is more. We don’t need all of the fancy, expensive, latest and greatest tools to make something beautiful. Also, there are so many places that we can economize our effort, cutting steps that just aren’t necessary. The only case where more is best is flux and solder!

We began by learning to alloy 18K gold, learning how to add different ratios of silver and copper to 24K gold to obtain green, yellow or red gold. We worked with 18K yellow gold for this project. We poured an ingot, and then used the rolling mill to roll it into sheet big enough for our pendant.

Once we had a flat piece of metal, we transferred our design to the metal. Then we started doing the piercing work with the jeweler’s saw. If used correctly, the saw can also be used as a file, creating very precise and finished work. My work was definitely neither precise nor finished, as I have so much to learn and practice, but it is such a useful technique that can produce absolutely incredible results.

Once we had the piercing finished, we domed the pendant, adding some extra depth to each of the leaves. Then we used some of the sheet we had left over to create a bezel for the stone. Once all that was finished, we soldered the bezel on to the pendant.

After the fabrication was complete, the real fun began. We learned about the different types of gravers, how to prepare them and how to sharpen them. This was a crash course, to the say the least. I was very glad I had some familiarity with engraving!

We learned the different ways to use a liner graver to create different textures that are often found in Florentine jewelry. This was both fascinating and frustrating, but these are techniques that I brought home and began working to incorporate in my work.

After the engraving and cleanup was done, it was time to set the stone and polish the piece. Phew! Might not seem like much, but it took the full week to work through all of it. A week packed with so much new information, great people, and lots of laughs. I’ll be forever grateful for this opportunity! To see one of the best examples I’ve seen of the piercing and graver work we learned, check out Buccellati, who has a shop in Florence on the Ponte Vecchio.

The beautiful amethyst I used in this project was cut by my dear friend Linda Searcy, at Linda Searcy Designs! In my next blog post, I’ll highlight some of the awesome things that I got to see and do in Florence.