looking for a metal jewelry which looks like it was made out of wood ?
Q.I'm looking to purchase a metal ring that looks like it was made out of wood for my bride-to-be. Does anyone know what I should be looking for, what kind of questions I should be asking? What kind of metal(s) should the ring be made out of? What kind of techniques would create this effect?
A.Assuming that you want a ring that still looks like it's made of metal, rather than an actual wood ring (which one might get with some paint finishes on metal, then probably, what you're looking for is a ring made with the technique called Mokume-gan, which is a japanese term that means "wood eye metal" referring to the patterns in burl wood or other complex wood grain patterns. It's a japanese traditional technique dating from the 1700s, originally used for sword guards and the like. In the sixties and seventies, Gene and Hiroko Pijianowski at the University of Michigan art department, in particular, and others around the country, began intensive investigations into this method, and from their work and teaching, a number of artists became quite proficient in these techniques and have made them increasingly familier to U.S. jewelry audiences. At this point in time, the methods are widely known, taught in most undergraduate college art metal/jewelry programs, but remain somewhat rare in commercial jewelry because they are considerably more time consuming than most other methods of jewelry making, and are not readily appropriate to commercial scale mass production. The method involves fusing multiple layers of different metals together, and forging, twisting, and otherwise working the laminate, then cutting into it revealing the patterns then formed by the multiple layers of different colored metals. The method is rather time consuming, compared to commercial methods of jewelry making (like casting, etc), and each piece is a unique individually made ring, even if the artist is making lots of them and giving them a "style number" or the like. No two are quite alike. There are a wide variety of different metals that can be laminated in this way, and thus quite a variation in colors and patterns. Several artists in the U.S. specialize in wedding bands made this way. Some of the better known mokume-gan artists who you may see represented in some of the fine jewelry stores or on the web, are Jim Binnion, George Sawyer, or Steve .Midget. As the work of these three and a number of other "pioneers" in popularizing this technique have become better known, there have been a number of more recent additions to the ranks of artists using this method to produce commercially available rings, who you can easily find with an appropriate Google search. Of them, I am especially familier with the work of Jim Binnion, who sells mostly direct, over the web. He happens to be a friend and fellow pacific northwest resident, a supurbly skilled jeweler, and I can recommend his work very highly to you. Find his website at http://www.mokume-gane.com/
Other Questions :
Talking about Cz Silver Jewelry
Does anyone have experience with the Gallery of Jewels in San Francisco. All consignment. Lots of artists it seems. Three locations. Any issues?-First thankyou Ravi, for your reply to my earlier post about education. Now, im very close to beginning m...
Diamond Dust Pendant.
I'm making a pendant out of Tungsten carbide - which I know is unusual - but I make pendants out of unusual/exotic materials as a hobby. I am used to working with tough materials - I make pendants from 6al4v titanium through to tigers eye -...
Antons Fine Jewelry ?
I'm a new commer to the field of jewelry business and looking for information. I use computers as design and manufacturing tools for gold jewelry. The responses stimulate me to considder taking this hoby further. For this need some basic data, ...
Batman Ring Titanium,
"But, Honey the instructions that came with that Ti Chainring you got me for Christmas clearly states: "Do not use Aluminum chainring bolts, use only steel or titanium. If you use aluminum, theyTitanium wedding bands!!! wahoooo!!! I've always w...
Commack Jewelry Exchange ?
"The Jewelry Exchange" advertises on radio with spots customized for specific markets. In the past week, KCBS and KSFO have aired spots for their store near Chicago. Does anyone at the stations listen to the spots before they air, or will they ...