The Classic Goldsmith

As I said in December, I am trying to improve my skills.  So recently I got the book The Classic Goldsmith by Mark Maxwell, one of my former instructors at GIA.  It is sort of an intermediate level project book. Intermediate or higher level because the basics are not discussed, for example it might just say to set a stone, but not talk about how to do it.

The Classic Goldsmith by Mark Maxwell

I feel I need practice at fabrication so I am fabricating something similar to the first project, the Edwardian style brooch.

Edwardian style brooch

I also feel I am too dependent on the laser welder.  Even when I am soldering I like to tack things in place with the laser before soldering, so I am making the brooch without using the laser at all.

This last pic is where I stopped Saturday night.  It's going pretty slowly.  I don't have a lot of time to work on it and I am making it to the best of my ability.  I really enjoy working that way, going slowly and doing things as good as I can.  I'll post all the process photos after I finish it.

Checking the fit before I solder

Another thing I have been working on is flush setting.  It's one of my favorite types of setting and also probably the one that I need the least amount of practice at.  Still I am trying to improve all my setting skills and this one is easy to do without preparing anything in advance, like bezels or prong settings, or channels.

Flush setting practice