Glossary

Alloy: A mixture of metals. Alloying metals produces a compound with appearance and properties that are different than each of its components.

Casting: Molten metal is poured into a specially-prepared mold to create jewelry components or a finished jewelry piece or  

Fabrication: Metal components are attached to one another by melting small amounts of metal to connect them (called soldering.) 

Red Brass: Brass is an alloy of the metals copper and zinc. Yellow brass is the most common alloy, known for its strength and bright color. Red brass has a warmer, red-golden color than yellow brass of the higher proportion of copper in its formula.

Sterling Silver: An alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper

Piercing: Sawing metal components using a fine-bladed jeweler's saw.

Forging: Changing the shape of a metal part by compressing it (e.g. hitting a sheet of metal with a hammer on an anvil to create a domed shape.)

Forming: changing the shape of a metal part by bending it (e.g. using a pair of pliers to bend wire into a a curl.)

Patina: A chemical reaction that changes the color, and sometimes the texture, of a metal surface. A patinated surface is durable but often changes subtly over time. A familiar example is the green patina on a copper roof, which results from exposure to wind and rain. On a silver piece with deep relief, a black patina background beautifully highlights the texture or motif.

Etching: A chemical process that produces a design in relief on a metal surface. The design is painted on a smooth piece of metal using a chemical-resistant paint (sometimes simply called a "resist".) The painted metal is put in a chemical bath that slowly dissolves the unpainted parts of the metal. When the resist is removed, the etched areas create a low-lying background for the design elements that were protected by the resist.

Engraving: A mechanical technique that uses a special chisel-like tool called a graver to carve calligraphic letters, lines, and images on a metal surface. Engraving is often confused for etching, but it is a cutting, not a dissolving, process.

Solder: Solder is a what's used to join parts in the fabrication technique for jewelry making. It's a special alloy of metal that melts at a lower temperature than the standard alloy, so it can be melted between to parts to join them. For example, sterling silver solder can be melted between two pieces of traditional sterling to join them together.