Jewelry Making Tutorials

Creation of jewelry – be it in precious metals like gold, silver, platinum or titanium and encrusted with precious or semi precious gemstones such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, cat’s eye, pearl, moonstones, garnets – or simple tribal jewelry made of sea shells, corals, wood and such or contemporary fashion jewelry or hand crafted jewelry- is an ancient art that dates back to the inception of civilization.

Women and men have loved adorning themselves and decking themselves up in various kinds of jewelry in all ages and in all countries and in all the chapters of history.

It is only a few centuries ago that some people – notably goldsmiths and silversmiths – started taking up jewelry making as a serious profession and the whole family got involved in the jewelry making industry and business.

Selling jewelry in plush showrooms and from jewelry stores started around 250 years back, roughly in the pre-Romantic period. Now the jewelry industry all over the world is a huge and flourishing one and is one of the most lucrative professions around.

One can go for jewelry making both as a hobby, to fruitfully utilize one’s spare time and leisure and indulge one’s creative side or take it up as a full time serious occupation.

Whatever might be the reason behind your taking up jewelry making, the essential qualities you need to have are creative flair, style, a sense of aesthetics and design, an eye for meticulous details and oodles of diligence.

If you are aspiring to be a professional jewelry designer, you should enroll yourself in a jewelry designing institute or college or school after cracking their entrance examination where your aptitude and passion for the profession will be put to test.

The courses usually last for 2 to 3 years after which you are awarded a diploma or degree. By attending their tutorials you can learn all the techniques and methods of jewelry making and fine tune your skills.

Your other option is to go for online jewelry making tutorials, available in plenty with the click of a mouse, where you may attend virtual jewelry making sessions from the comfort of your home.

A few good and reputed tutorials are offered by WIG JIG UNIVERSITY, WHITE SWAN, PRESTON J. REUTHER, GEMOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA, ENI OKEN’S JEWELRY, COLORADO ACADEMY OF SILVERSMITHING AND ART METAL, TOPICAL PROJECT LIST etc.

Or you can opt for free tutorials and training videos over the internet where they will teach you the basic and fundamental techniques and steps involved in the craft of jewelry making. 

Jewelry Making Tips

In this article I will provide you with a few tips which you will find helpful if you want to take up jewelry making as a hobby or a pastime.

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Go through the magazine and books I have listed here to get a few quick tips on jewelry making:

·        THE BEAD AND BUTTON MAGAZINE

·        THE ART OF JEWELRY DESIGN: FROM IDEA TO REALITY authored by Elizabeth Olver

·        THE ART OF MAKING JEWELRY written by Jessica Wrobel, Tammy Powley and Deborah Krupenia

·        THE BOOK OF BEADS: A PRACTICAL AND INSPIRATIONAL GUIDE TO BEADS AND JEWELRY MAKING authored by Robert Budwig and Janet Coles

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Helpful tips can also be found online from the free instructional videos and free jewelry making/designing websites/courses available in plenty over the internet. They are accompanied by photographs or video footages and step by step graphic illustrations and easy to follow guidelines. They are your best bets if you are a beginner.

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Another mind blowing tip is to become friends with the neighborhood jeweler, sit by his side and observe his techniques and methods of making jewelry. You can receive hands on training, secure some trade secrets and apply them. His years of experience in the related field will enrich your jewelry making knowledge base.

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Keep an eye open for television shows targeted at women and homemakers, usually telecast during the afternoon slot. They often feature jewelry making episodes. They bring in a jewelry making expert as their guest who gives quite a few demonstrations of and tips on jewelry making techniques, styles, patterns, materials, supplies etc.

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Ladies’ clubs, kitty party circles, jewelry malls/stores and NGOs often organize jewelry making sessions for women who want to take it up as a hobby. Enroll in these workshops.

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Start off with something easy, like making a necklace or a bracelet out of beads or corals or sea shells or wood. You will of course have to learn the techniques of beading by using a beading wire, stringing, soldering, applying glue, adding finishing touches, polishing etc.

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When you are thorough with the basics and the fundamentals you can graduate to working with metals like titanium, silver, steel or gold and precious or semi precious gemstones like rubies, pearls, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, moonstones, garnets, cat’s eye etc.

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Try to know the composition and mixing ratios of metals and alloys, equip yourself with knowledge about terms like hardness, softness, carat, clarity, cut, weight, color of metals and gemstones, how to take care of them etc.

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Lastly, give a free run to your imagination and creativity when it comes to the designs and materials, have lots of patience and diligence and work with passion.

Basic Jewelry Making

One of the ancient crafts of the world that has made a quiet comeback but is doing roaring business is jewelry making/designing. It used to be a flourishing craft/art in the golden days of bygone eras.

In contemporary times many people are returning to this unique creative field and taking it up as a hobby or turning to it as a serious profession after honing and sharpening their skills and learning the techniques of jewelry making from jewelry designing institutes.

Those who take up jewelry designing as a hobby or as a means of livelihood are usually seeking a vent/outlet through which they can give expression to their creative restlessness.

Jewelry making is a viable and lucrative career option and jewelry designers are slowly but surely emerging from their shroud of oblivion and making their mark in a field which can easily be compared to fine arts in terms of skill and artistry that are required.

Thanks to a shift in media focus, Jewelry designers are coming under the limelight and the day is not far when jewelry designing will be as glamorous and profitable and famous a profession as fashion/apparel designing.

If you are bristling with creativity, have an artistic flair and an eye for meticulous detail coupled with passion and aesthetic sensibility, jewelry designing should be easy for you.

Instead of starting off with precious metals and precious/semi precious stones, you should begin with the creation of simple pieces with beads, sea shells, corals, flowers etc. You can take tips and look up the patterns/designs/styles from online jewelry designing sites which can be found in abundance. If you are more serious, you can take the help of instructional videos or enroll in online jewelry designing courses to fine tune your skill and techniques.

Handcrafted jewelry is unique and different from run of the mill jewelry, add a touch of class and elegance to your attire and personality and make you stand out in a crowd. Everybody would go wow if you turn up in a party in your own handmade jewelry made of beads and corals and you will be the cynosure of all eyes.

There are wide varieties of beads available in the market which come in different shapes, sizes and colors as well as materials and you can make use of beading wire to string the beads together and create necklaces, earrings, bracelets, ornamental head gear, bangles , pendants and what not.

If you try, you can make many exquisite pieces of jewelry in eye catching unique designs and patterns that will earn you accolades and you can also customize the look of your handcrafted jewelry to suit your mood or outfit.

How much does a jewelry designer earn?

I know this question was bound to come up and from whatever I know about this field, a skilled jewelry designer with more than 5 years of experience can earn $7200 per month. But remuneration often depends on the employer and if you are really creative and can create a celeb fan base, only the sky will be the limit for your earnings. And who knows, you might very well be the Oscar de la Renta of the jewelry making world!