How would you chose your jewelry to be made? Most people have no idea that they do have a choice let alone what the choices might be. The reason is absolutely not that people are stupid, they certainly are very intelligent. So intelligent that the ones making jewelry with high production/short cut methods are busy educating people that their methods are great and we need to look no further. Very little information has ever been made popular about what methods are the best because there is little profit in it. Big profits are in high production, not in using tools like hammers, saws and files.
Here is where I don't fit in with the crowd, I do not want to be filthy rich, ever. If you gave me a mega millions lottery ticket that could put millions in my hands my heart would run cold and I would run from such a burdensome responsibility.
I like what I can understand and what I know works the best. Unless I am walking, I have no interest in short cuts. Fire melts metals, hammers flatten and shape metal, saws and files do their obvious task. In the end I have a piece of jewelry that will be strong and true to the owners for generations. This makes sense to me. So here you can see how I spend my time. I have a huge supply of silver and gold coins and bars because, quite frankly, I have always thought banks were not to be trusted much. I do not borrow nor do I loan, thus I have saved over the years. The good thing is that banks can still be trusted and my coins make good jewelry after all.
When you look through my pictures here you will see how I get your piece of Sterling Silver jewelry started. The formation of an ingot is the step prior to when the hammer starts to swing.