I was invited by the Crafts Council to take part in a round-table discussion on the subject of environmental sustainability in the precious metal sector. I was very excited to have been invited and the meeting took place last week, 25th January 2023 in Birmingham at the STEAMhouse.

Image Credit: Jade Mellor

Participants:

• Caroline Jackman, Head of Craft Business Skills at Crafts Council; Chair of the Meeting

• Toby Cotterill, independent designer/maker,

• Hendrike Barz-Meltzer, independent designer/maker

• Rebecca Skeels, independent designer/ and senior lecturer at Birmingham University

• Jade Mellor, independent designer/maker and manager at Gill Wing Gallery, London

• Eliza Higginbottom of Yunus and Eliza, independent designer/maker

• Rebecca van Rooijen, Co-founder and Editor of Benchpeg,

• Fran Onumah, independent designer /maker

• Paul Wells, independent designer / maker and lecturer

• Chris Corti, metallurgist and gold expert

• Greg Valerio MBE, Social & Ecopreneur, Author, Speaker, Ethical Jeweller

• Sonny Bailey-Aird, independent designer / maker

• Jonathan Stokes, Bishopsland Educational Trust

The meeting had been organised as a direct result of the annual Crafts Council Maker Needs Survey (2021), in which 85% of makers expressed the wish for further guidance on being more environmentally sustainable in their business, with “a majority of respondents indicating environmental considerations are important to them.”

As such, various round table discussions were organised, each centring on a different discipline and these were to be held in 2022/23 with the results to be published in the spring of 2023.

For our meeting, Caroline had invited professionals with diverse areas of expertise in the precious metal industry to ensure a rich discussion and outcome. She had also circulated a number of questions to be discussed prior to the meeting.

These covered: our understanding of being ethical; what we were already doing in our business; the barriers in our way as well as our motivations for adopting an ethical stance in our work; how much we are influenced in our ethical approach by our customers; our vision for a more ethical future in our work as well as our needs to achieve said vision.

With some participants more knowledgeable in the field of sustainable and ethical practice than others, the round nevertheless provided a positive atmosphere of equality that allowed for the frank exchange of views and thoughts.

Whilst many issues were discussed, my personal favourite comments were:

• Making the precious metal industries sustainable and ethical requires leadership.

• This leadership should ideally come from industry and established institutions but in their absence, it is down to everyone to make a difference.

• For this we need a clear set of values, encompassing, for example, equality, justice and a priority of the poor and environment over resources.

• We not only need leadership, but also funding to enable change to take place; for research to be undertaken, these kind of talks to take place, etc.

• We need existing organisations, institutions and individuals, who have already done pioneering work in this field, to cooperate, to share their findings and make them easily accessible to all in the field.

• The biggest players in the industry, such as the Goldsmiths’ Company, need to become leaders in the field of ethical jewellery, but for that to happen it needs to become more open to change and to an increased inclusion of women.

I look forward to reading the summaries and findings of these discussions and am excited about what changes it may lead to in the future.

Hendrike

I think many people agree that the end of the year is always a time to reflect on the past months and to make plans for the coming year. As a mother, teacher and independent business life is always busy, it never stops and it is easy to forget or only focus on the things that were difficult or didn’t go to plan.

So, as part of this review I wanted to use this last Blog of the year to go over the things that I am particularly proud of having achieved this year!

And of course, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support this year - for reading my blogs, liking my posts and for purchasing my pieces! I wish you all well for the coming year: happiness, health and peace!

Blog

My monthly Blog was one of my biggest projects this year and one I am immensely proud of – proud because I actually did them! It wasn’t always easy to stick to my deadlines but I really enjoyed the research, writing and the opportunity to learn.

I wrote on a variety of subjects: some blogs were connected to my collection (e.g. Blogs 2 & 6), whilst others were more technical (e.g. Blogs 7-11). The technical blogs were definitely the more challenging and were written so as to expand my own knowledge on these subjects and of course to deepen my understanding on the environmental aspects. This often involved a sharp learning curve (thank you internet!), especially on anything related to chemistry – definitely not one of my favourite subjects at school.

I like to continue the blogs and look forward to seeing how they will evolve.

ACJ Meanings and Messages

The Association for Contemporary Jewellery (ACJ) celebrated its 25th anniversary this year and as part of these celebrations it had planned a touring exhibition with the title Meanings and Messages. The Association invited members to submit entries – brooches – with this title in mind. I was very fortunate that my entry, Elpis Brooch, was one those selected. When visiting the private view at its first venue I was overwhelmed by the imagination and breadth of interpretation of all the entries. I wrote a separate Blog about this exhibition which you can read here.

This show is still ongoing and will travel next to the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London where it will be shown from 9th January – 24th February 2023. The last venue will be at New Brewery Arts – 4 April – 18 June 2023.

Current Collection Interrupted Patterns

The above brooch was the starting point for my current collection, Interrupted Patterns, which I launched at the Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey in June, where it was very well received. The collection had started with reading Greek mythology, a visit to the ancient Greek collection at the British Museum and focussing on the use of patterns on these artefacts. Writing about it in my Blogs helped immensely to focus my thinking and I loved being able to share the background and design process of these pieces.

Craft Festival Bovey Tracey

The Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey is a well-established craft fair and it was my first time exhibiting my work there in June this year. Following the pandemic, it was also my first in-person show again and it was wonderful being able to re-connect directly with customers and fellow makers. I was really impressed with the organisation and quality of the show and look forward to being there again next year!

Teaching

During 2022 I have continued to teach a variety of classes at the jewellery school of Rachel Jeffrey in Wheathampstead. In my regular day-time classes I ran a term-long project on Found Materials and Cold Connections. This was a wonderful opportunity for my students (new and more experienced ones) to look at their various old - and often broken - pieces of jewellery and to re-design them or re-use some of their elements. In doing so, we looked at the many ways different materials can be joined without using heat.

In another term we focussed on learning various techniques of making chain – again, a very interesting course and very much enriched by the input of all the students. I also taught a number of one-day taster courses, as well as some weekend-long intensive courses, such as my Keum-Boo course.

Being a teacher challenges my conceptions of what I know and my aim is always to make students feel comfortable and enable them to further their knowledge. If you would like to take part in any of my classes, please get in touch with myself or with Rachel Jeffrey.

Commissions

During the latter part of the year it was lovely to receive a number of interesting commissions and it was wonderful being able to closely involve the clients in the design process.

If you would like to commission a piece, please do get in touch. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas and how we could explore them further together.

ACJ magazine Findings

In early December I was happily surprised to receive my copy of the ACJ magazine Findings and to find that some of my Kumihimo work was featured there. Kumihimo is an ancient Japanese silk braiding technique, originally used to make traditional Obi (belts) for Japanese kimono. I used this technique to create patterned silk braids and used them in various necklaces and brooches. Click here to find out more about this technique.

The focus of the Findings magazine was on textile techniques used by a variety of jewellery makers in their work. Thank you ACJ for including me!

Find a Maker and Made by Hand Online

Earlier in the year I applied to be included in these two online craft platforms and was very pleased to have been accepted. Both platforms represent and further the interests of selected makers. You can click to see me pages by clicking these links: Find a Maker and MadeByHandOnline

Next Year: 2023

Plans for next year are already well underway and I have accepted show offers on three exhibitions. The first two will be the Craft Festival at Cheltenham Town Hall from 10-12 March 2023 and the Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey, Devon from 9-11 June 2023. The Craft Festival in Cheltenham will be a new fair for me and I am looking forward to meeting new clients there.  As mentioned above, I greatly enjoyed the Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey earlier in the year and look forward to being there again next year.

As I have not done any fairs in London since March 2019, I am also extremely excited to be taking part again in a Central London Fair in November next year. I can’t share any details just yet, but they will follow in due course!

This is the second part of my Blog on the removal of tarnish from silver jewellery. Please click here to read the first part (Number 10)

In the previous part (1) I gave a brief overview of the element silver, what tarnish is and how it occurs and I looked at two methods of removing tarnish: by using an impregnated polishing cloth and by using a chemical solution, or silver dip.

In this second part I will be looking at two further methods. The first one is an interesting process that can be done easily at home with baking soda/washing soda, hot water and aluminium foil and various recipes can be found online.

Electrochemical process (Sodium Bi/Carbonate and Aluminium Foil)

In this process, a ceramic bowl is lined with aluminium foil and a solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or washing soda (sodium carbonate) and hot water, into which the tarnished piece is submerged. I did experiments with both sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate and did experiments to find out for well both works.

“The process is electrochemical, with the carbonate solution acting as the electrolyte. As long as contact is maintained between the two metals, the aluminium corrodes and hydrogen gas is produced. This gas then reacts with the tarnish, reducing it back to the silver metal.”[1]

The object of my experiments was to find how I could remove tarnish from textured surfaces, pieces with a satin finish and those with Keum-Boo patterns.

I tarnished a few silver test pieces with the boiled egg method[2]. All silver pieces had a deep, dark-brown tarnished surface. These pieces were also textured, some lightly, some more heavily and some also had 24ct gold Keum-Boo gold patterns.

I lined a ceramic bowl with aluminium foil, added circa 300ml hot water and then a table spoon of sodium bicarbonate / sodium carbonate. I placed the tarnished pieces into the solution and left it for 10 minutes. After this period I lifted the piece out and rinsed it with ionised water.

One can see a brownish rim on the aluminium foil in the bowl which is the removed tarnish.

Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)

This solution worked well for lightly tarnished surfaces, but it struggled with tarnished pieces that had a deeper brown colour. Even after repeating the process with fresh solution was the tarnish not completely removed.

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Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate)

In the experiment using sodium carbonate I used three pieces I had used in previous tarnish removal experiments as well as one ‘new’ one. All pieces were tarnished with the boiled egg method (see footnote 2) and had a deep brownish-black colour. They were left in the sodium carbonate solution for 10 minutes. After this period most of the tarnish was removed from the ‘new’ piece, whilst the other three still showed quite a bit tarnish.

In summary, this process works well for lightly tarnished pieces, or as a first step of removing some tarnish, to then be followed up by a second method.

Washing soda (sodium carbonate) is a substance that occurs naturally and its safety data sheet classes it as not dangerous for the environment, indeed it is often used as an eco-friendly cleaning agent in the home. Despite this, care must be taken when using it as it can be an irritant for hands and eyes.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) works similarly to washing soda and it is also considered a very safe, biodegradable and eco-friendly cleaning agent.

Other Methods: Precipitated Calcium Carbonate

When researching this subject I came across various documents online published by the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI). These dealt with different processes of removing tarnish from museum objects and were very thoroughly researched papers and very valuable for this blog.

These papers explained in detail the various aspect on how tarnish occurs, how it can be prevented and how it can be removed.[3]

In relation to removing tarnish it also mentioned another method which falls into the first category of using mechanical action. The substance used here is precipitated calcium carbonate – super-fine chalk (CaCO3).

The article explained, amongst other things, that silver sulphide (tarnish) is a somewhat softer than the actual silver and that calcium carbonate is slightly harder than silver. This make it an ideal and still very gently abrasive to use to remove tarnish.

What is Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC)?

Calcium carbonate (chalk) is a naturally occurring substance. “It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor.”[4]

“Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) is an innovative product derived from lime, which has many industrial applications.  PCC is made by hydrating high-calcium quicklime and then reacting the resulting slurry, or ‘milk-of-lime’, with carbon dioxide.  The resulting product is extremely white and typically has a uniform narrow particle size distribution.  PCC is available in numerous crystal morphologies and sizes, which can be tailored to optimize performance in a specific application.”[5]

Is PCC eco-friendly?

The Safety Data Sheet by Thermo Fisher Scientific, one of the companies selling this product, states that PCC does not pose any health or environmental hazards.

As the chalk is a very fine powder care should be taken not to inhale the dust, but as it is mixed with water this risk is somewhat reduced. Rubber gloves should be worn when using it as the powder is abrasive on the skin.

How is it used?

PCC is mixed with tap water to make a paste and is then rubbed over the tarnished surface with a soft cloth.

The substance will turn greyish and it should then be rinsed off with clean tap water. Afterwards the piece should be thoroughly dried.

Results:

I made a paste as described above and used it on some of the above-mentioned tarnished pieces on which the sodium bicarbonate/carbonate and aluminium solution did not fully remove the tarnish.

The calcium carbonate worked very well on all the test pieces. It removed the tarnish completely. The pieces became slightly shinier after the treatment but the surface felt whiter - in comparison to using a polishing cloth.

None of the methods used above were able to retain a previous matte surface finish on the piece.

I contacted the CCI to find out about any specific methods of removing tarnish from matte surfaces. They replied saying that they had no methods of removing tarnish and preserving the matte original surface finish of a piece.

Conclusion:

Removing tarnish from silver can be done in various ways. In terms of their environmental impact or hazardous nature, the most hazardous is the silver dip.

Using a polishing cloth, sodium bi/carbonate and calcium carbonate are low impact methods of removing tarnish, however they may differ in their effectiveness.

Lightly tarnished objects can be cleaned by using polishing cloths or the sodium bi/carbonate, aluminium foil method. For more stubborn tarnish precipitated chalk is a good way of removing tarnish.

I have not found a method of removing tarnish from matte surfaces whilst preserving the matte finish. The matte surface finish would have to be re-applied after tarnish removal. For the customer, those pieces of jewellery should best be given to a jeweller who can restore the previously matte surface finish.

I hope you have found these two blogs interesting. Do let me know if you have any comments.

[1] (Silver – Care and Tarnish Removal – Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI), Notes 9/7, (2019) https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/canadian-conservation-institute-notes.html )

[2] As hard-boiled eggs contain and release hydrogen sulphide, they can be used to tarnish objects quickly. Though it is less predictable, it is an eco-friendly way to darken pieces of jewellery. All pieces developed a speckled brown hue which may have been due to the condensation of water inside the closed box.

[3] See footnote 1 above.

[4] Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk

[5] https://www.lime.org/lime-basics/uses-of-lime/other-uses-of-lime/precipitated-calcium-carbonate/

In my 10th (October) Blog I wanted to write about the removal of tarnish from silver jewellery. However, October and November have been busy months and I did not manage to finish this piece.

Now, at the end of November it is almost finished but it has once more become a lengthier article and so I decided to divide it into two, more manageable pieces.

Motivation

As to my motivations for writing about this topic: When I set up my website I wrote a section for my customers (or those interested) on how to look after their jewellery. I covered tarnish removal but recently felt that it could do with updating.

More specifically, I wanted to investigate methods other than using a polishing cloth and those which worked well on textured or satin surfaces. I did some research and conducted some experiments to see which methods worked, were environmentally friendly and could be replicated at home.

What is tarnish?

Silver is a white metal which has been widely used throughout the ages. Its sought-after qualities include its high lustre, reflectivity, superior thermal and electrical conductivity as well as very good malleability and ductility.

Silver is an element with the symbol Ag, lies within Group 11 and Period 5 of the Periodic Table and has the Atomic Number 47. In its pure state silver is very soft, making it often impractical for use in jewellery. It is therefore alloyed (mixed) with copper which makes it harder and produces what we term Sterling Silver. The ratio of metals in Sterling Silver is 925 parts pure silver and 75 parts copper.

Pure silver barely reacts with oxygen, however, it reacts with sulphur-containing gasses in the air. The most common is hydrogen sulphide (for example contained in hard-boiled eggs, decomposing plants or animals.) Silver reacts with this gas and produces the compound silver sulphide (Ag2S) and it is this, we define as the brownish-black tarnish on silver. (In Sterling silver the reaction with hydrogen sulphide also produces copper sulphide (Cu2S).)

Tarnish, therefore, is the result of a chemical reaction between a metal and a gas

Early silver Athenian coin, 5th century BCE. British Museum. By I, PHGCOM, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2392720

Which metals are affected and why?

Tarnish can affect different metals. Copper, brass and aluminium can also tarnish through their exposure to oxygen or other gases, but silver needs hydrogen sulphide to form this dark layer of tarnish.

Unlike rust, however, the tarnish layer actually protects the inner layers of the metal from further tarnishing. A newly polished piece of silver, therefore, tarnishes quicker than an already tarnished piece. However, tarnish changes the original appearance of the piece and this is why most people would like it removed.

Traditional methods of removal?

There are many ways in which tarnish can be removed from silver once it has occurred, though it is best to prevent the tarnish from occurring in the first place. This can be achieved by storing the silver article in a sealed plastic bag or container, thus avoiding contact with air which may contain hydrogen sulphide.

To remove tarnish, once it has occurred, the following methods have traditionally been used to remove tarnish from silver:

• by mechanical action of polishing the silver, using a silver polishing cloth

• by immersing the silver into a chemical solution (silver dip)

• by an electrochemical process, involving baking soda, water and aluminium

Before any tarnish is removed, the piece should be gently cleaned with warm soapy water and a soft cloth or toothbrush to remove any other dirt particles that may have accumulated.

Mechanical action – Polishing Cloths

All mechanical polishing action involves some kind of abrasive particles to remove the tarnish (as well as some silver), although some products are gentler than others. It is advisable to check on a test piece how aggressive or not your chosen product is.

Polishing cloths are soft cloths that are impregnated with a polishing compound which removes the tarnish and usually also a tarnish inhibitor which prevents (or slows down) tarnish from occurring.

These cloths are very gentle and are a good way of removing light tarnish from your silver jewellery and they work particularly well on polished surfaces. They can also be used on textured surfaces but on coarser textures or heavy tarnish they may not be able to remove all the tarnish. Using them on matte or satin surfaces will result in the surfaces being shinier than before.

Polishing cloths can also be used on pieces with 24ct gold Keum-Boo patterns. The surface will become shinier than the original finish.

Chemical solutions (silver dip)

These chemical dips are available from different companies. They work by immersing the tarnished piece of silver into the solution for a couple of minutes and then rinsing and drying it. The tarnish will have been removed.

They are not suitable for all items, especially if other materials or gemstones are included in the piece.

These dips contain an acid (in the brands I compared, these were hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid) and other chemicals that may be harmful to the user. In the safety data sheets of two different brands I compared these substances were classed as hazardous to health.

Due to these chemicals these solutions are very difficult to safely dispose of after use.

- To be continued in Part Two -

My second blog for August is on the Korean technique of Keum-Boo – the main subject I had intended to write about in July. As it was a busy month I didn’t quite manage to post it. Whilst writing it, I also realised that it had become too long, so I divided it into three: one on Hallmarking, the second one on Keum-Boo and the third (in September) on gold plating.

Origin

Keum-Boo is an ancient metal work technique which originated in Korea, though the exact beginnings are unclear. Keum-Boo (also spelt Kum-boo or Kum-Bu) literally means ‘attached gold’. This technique is about attaching pure, 24ct gold foil to silver.

So, why am I using this technique? I came across it when trying to find alternatives to gold plating. (Look out for my next blog in September!) In one of my past collections I had various pieces gold/rhodium plated but when I came aware of the environmental impact of gold-plating, I wanted to avoid using this technique and looked for other ways of adding gold patterns to my work.

I came across Keum-Boo online, when researching alternatives and was immediately intrigued and struck by the potential it offered for creating gold patterns (see my Blog 6 where I wrote about my fascination with patterns) and also the way it did not involve hazardous chemicals.

Keum-Boo

What attracted me further to this technique was its simplicity. I like learning new processes, but especially so when they do not involve the necessary purchase of expensive tools and equipment.

The things I needed for Keum-boo was pure, 24ct gold foil, one of my pieces of sterling silver jewellery, a hot plate, fine scissors, tweezers, baking soda and methylated spirit. The only new tools I needed to buy were two agate burnishers - beautiful objects in themselves (see below).

The gold foil I use for Keum-Boo is 13 microns thick = 0.013 mm. (The thickness is measured in micrometers, or short microns: 1 micron = 0.001 mm.)

Compared to the thicknesses of 0.5-5 microns for gold plating, this gold foil is quite substantial. In actual fact, when I cut my gold foil pieces I always feel I can sense the weight of the gold when it falls onto the table.

The gold foil I buy is recycled and comes from a Japanese company that recycles gold from the dental industry and from electronic scraps.

I have recently also invested in a digital micrometer so that I am able to recycle and roll down my own gold to the correct thickness.

Keum-Boo Process

Keum-Boo is usually the last thing I do on a piece – in other words, all other fabrication steps have been done before. The silver is then prepared to receive the gold. When using sterling silver (as it is an alloy containing copper) it has to be prepared so that a thin layer of fine, pure silver at the surface is created. This allows the fine gold molecules to bond with the silver. When using fine silver, this step is not necessary as the fine silver is pure and does not contain copper.

Once this has been done, the piece is cleaned with baking soda and methylated spirit. I then cut the relevant shape from the gold foil which requires patience and calmness. (Pet cats that jump onto the worktop with the gold foil laid out should be avoided here, as are open windows and sudden gusts of wind. ;)

During the design stage, I would have finalised the exact pattern I want to create and this will guide me when I am cutting the foil.

When all is prepared, the silver piece is placed on the hot plate and the gold is laid on top. Whilst holding the silver piece in place (and this is often the really tricky bit), the gold is burnished (pressed) onto and into the silver with the agate burnisher.

When I am sure all areas of the gold are properly attached, I remove the piece from the hot plate, allow it to cool and add the finishing touches.

Please note that working over a hot plate involves getting very hot! Therefore, it is most beneficial to do this when one is cold - crouching over a hot plate in the summer and doing a collection of 20 pieces in 30°C is challenging! It is paramount to wear gloves to protect the hands from the heat and ideally a face heat guard to protect the eyes from exposure to heat from the hot plate. The images below show the making process of a pair of square stripy ear studs which are available to buy from my shop.

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Below are various pieces from different collections that I have made using this technique.

Book classes

If you are interested in learning this technique do get in touch by email and I will let you know when the next course is planned. I usually teach this technique over a whole weekend at Rachel Jeffrey Jewellery in the beautiful village of Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire. During the course I will explain the technique in great detail and there will be plenty of time to make a number of pieces. I will also teach the additional technique of riveting that can be used in combination with Keum-boo.