by Maurice Silber
The technical and artistic aspects were interwoven with the business end. There was no clear division. The concepts and ideas worked out in the shop meshed with the sales format. In the making of models and designs I was cognizant of the needs in the industry. The ideal would be to give free reign to creativeness but acceptance of the new things could not allow radical departures. Nevertheless I found myself with so many ideas that were begging to be translated into three dimensions. Ideas would be drawn from nature and altered to suit the material I would be working with. The manner of construction followed by necessity the design. I was dealing with basic concepts and a study had to be made on how to turn an inspiration into the proper treatment. I worked with platinum, silver and gold. The base metals such as brass or copper were utilized for models. Sometimes I would use gold for the model. It is such a beautiful metal to work with because its behavior is unique. It is malleable and can be rolled, beaten and shaped without breaking.
Ideas would grow as I worked with the material. I constantly think in terms of utilizing three dimensions, filling space with negative and positive shapes, bending, filing, envisioning. Design in jewelry, architecture, industrial design or whatever is working in three dimensions and concerned with spatial relationships. With all the gross inherent limitations, we use every device to produce a good design. I would use any and all material that would enable me to fulfill my ideas in making the master model. The models were made for mass production and had to be perfect in every detail because the minutest flaw would show in the reproduced pieces. I used epoxies, sculptmetal, electronic welding and tacking to permit me to carry out "impossible" designs. I engineered the piece, the prototype, so that a wax could be withdrawn from a rubber mold in one undistorted duplication to be used for casting production in the lost wax process.
I prepared the special rubber and set the model into a frame with the rubber. The molds were vulcanized for thirty minutes and removed from the press which has heating platens applied to the encased piece of jewelry. Temperature was maintained at two hundred and fifty degrees F. I cut and separated the mold into two parts or more depending on the design of the encased ring or article. I consider myself a pioneer in pulling waxes of complicated design in one piece to avoid the necessity of much bench work. The waxes were sprued onto a core and this wax tree was arranged with the venting of gases and metal flow in mind. This arrangement was invested in a flask for oven burnout at selective temperatures, depending upon type of metal to be cast and bulk. Gold and platinum required different investments. Centrifugal casting was the method used, metal melted automatically.
The casting process was only the beginning as it was followed by bench work. Expensive and inaccurate hand work was in most cases avoided because of the one piece casting. Nevertheless a large part of hand labor was required such as filing, prepolishing, assembly and the addition of settings. The settings were in some cases bought as findings but most were made in the shop in graduated sizes. Since the use of precious and semi precious stones was used extensively on a production basis every setting design was made in series to accommodate the standard cuts and sizes. Extremely accurate models had to be made. There is a ten percent shrinkage, not always consistent, from model to casting. And this shrinkage would vary upon the placement of the model in the mold for vulcanization.
Many of the designs were too complicated for the polishing of recessed areas. In order to accomplish a handmade look and get rid of the cast appearance, tumbling with shot and water was used. Large quantities were done in a drum at one time. Prior to this process the castings were finished by the jeweler at the bench by sawing, piercing, filing and soldering with the use of oxygen and gas. Scale and oxidation was removed by pickling in a diluted sulfuric or nitric acid solution. Heating hastened the action. Covered Pyrex containers were used in a vented enclosure. In the polishing operation assorted buffs and brushes using compounds of tripoi, jewelers rouge and mirror lapping compounds. The various buffs and laps of assorted types for different operations were kept confined to the use of a particular compound to avoid contamination. In many cases the casting was so perfect that the jewelers work was merely to cut off the gates. Porosity, if found, was repaired by either burnishing or filling with solder. The solders employed were of gold of a slightly lower carat than the article and the colors were matched.
In the case of white gold rhodium plating was employed to prevent any possible tarnish from the nickel content. This was accomplished with the selenium rectifier, a plating solution and a pure platinum anode. Absolute cleanliness of the article plated is essential and the pieces were prepared in electrocleaning solutions in stainless steel pots containing alkaline material. Ultrasonics in a separate tank ensured that no foreign matter remained on the surface. In the case of yellow gold electrostripping brightened surfaces impossible for the polisher to reach.
In backtracking, I experimented continuously in model making even employing macrame in wire work; electroforming to reproduce forms that exist in nature such as leaves, insects and assorted growths. In order to be able to electroform the surface was prepared to be conductive by spraying or dipping with a copper powder in a lacquer solution. The model is usually expendable as the thinness precludes its permanency. I carved wax, added textures and used heated tools of various shapes to modify the surfaces. Using wax "pencils", hot wax dripped into water and all sorts of manipulation created very individual pieces. Exploiting characteristics of wax and metals permitted me to find out what was possible to accomplish. I experimented with granulation, an ancient technique. The model may have engraving, repousse or chased surfaces. With the exception of a flexible shaft motor nearly everything was done by hand. Tools of all sorts including specially designed ones were used to allow me to make the pieces of jewelry. At all times I had to be conscious of the fact that the items were to be used for mass production and that less skillful workers would be working on them. I literally engineered the model. Thickness of metal, weight of the finished product, avoidance of casting problems and easy bench and polishing considerations were always seriously on my mind while making the model.
The inclusion of precious and semi-precious stones in the rings I manufactured meant that the setting of those stones correctly was of utmost importance. They had to be secure and finished well. There are several ways of setting and all were employed. Prong and bead work are the most popular. Each technique used was dependent upon the design of the ring. Bead work was used in flat plate where engraving tools were used. Pressure applied to the surface near the stone that was fitted to the hole would raise a burr that overlapped. Beading tools of various sizes would finish the top of the burr. This "prong" would hold the stone in place. In the case of prong setting, bearings would be cut in the prongs, the stone fitted perfectly with the stone resting on the bearings equally and pressure applied to the top of the prong forcing down the metal onto the stone. The prongs were secured many times with automatic hammers and beading tools. Another setting method is pavé, seldom used by me.
In the production of the rings or whatever, where settings or parts were to be soldered, electronic tacking facilitated the job. Jigs and fixtures lined up the parts and the series or "gang" is soldered one after the other. Any decoration or finishing such as florentining is done after finishing. Inspection of all work as it progresses is continual and especially after the job is completed prior to shipping. Any defects were returned to the shop for repair.
I spent time in many of the jewelry factories of Italy. The town of Valenza Po (aka Valenza) contained the most important ones and I was in the most advanced locale to learn every possible technique. Because of these connections I became one of the largest importers of fashion jewelry. Many ideas absorbed by me carried into my work. By filtering out what was not practical in this country I was able to combine ideas that would be marketable.
I am a chess player and it occurred to me to make a set of men's jewelry in various combinations. I designed and make the models of chess motif jewelry and hold design patents on the entire series. I carved each chess piece in miniature and made them into cuff links, tie tacks and tie bars. There were two tone sets and the white gold parts were rhodium plated after a wax stop was applied to the yellow. The obtaining of the patents necessitated having special drawings and I also had to submit photographs which I made.
In all the production of the jewelry I had to coordinate the entire line with the purchase of materials. Castings, findings, assorted stones to fit the jobs, the numerous details of laying out who is to get what and when seems to belong in the area of business but really meshed with my factory. Without this coordination and flow it would not be possible to finish work and keep the benchman supplied on time without interruption.
All scrap was kept of course and refined. Filings were placed into a pan and burned out to rid the gold of emery paper and burnable material, This was then demagnetized to pull out broken saw blades, drill bits and iron binding wire. The recovery of the gold was an important part of the business as this was put back into use. In order to reclaim the metal I had vented hoods to protect us from the acid fumes. Using nitric acid solutions, the residue of the iron or steel from the files etc. was put into solution and gotten rid of. The solutions were accumulated and with the floor sweeps sent to a refiner for recovery of silver and whatever gold passed through in the pouring off of the acid. This procedure of simple refining permitted me to use the gold again in my work. The washout of the acid was done very assiduously until there was no trace left in the filings and scrap. The clippings, filings and bits were of first grade material So after preliminary cleaning all was melted together in a crucible with a boric acid flux. The slag such as emery and grit would run off to the side and I was left with a clean button that I could roll out and use for either casting with fresh gold added or for hand made pieces. Platinum filings were treated in the same manner except that the acid I used was aqua regia. This is a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid and attacked gold, silver and other metals. The platinum was left clean after much rinsing and melted into a workable button. The more involved refining was sent out as it began to deal with metal in solution and precipitating the gold with oxalic acid or copperas and that posed problems in which I did not want to become wrapped up in. My recovery of metal then was on a rather practical level and I had time to devote to my models and management.
Enameling on metal was also embraced and found its use in many of the designs that were more or less of a classic background. I prepared the surfaces in the model form by engraving and the casting was dipped into acid or electrocleaned. To ensure a perfectly good surface the piece was reengraved if necessary. If the piece called for transparent enamel the beauty could be enhanced by fancy engraving that would show through. The cloisonn? technique was most employed as it was the most effective in production. Colors were either black or dark blue. Gold and stones would be nost effectively contrasted and striking. Constant attention to cleanliness was imperative as any contamination getting into the enamel would cause trouble. Though the enamels were purchased already ground it was further reduced into a finer mesh by grinding in a mortar and washed thoroughly. The enamel could also be purchased in chunk state but that entailed too much work in reducing to fine mesh. The enamel was transfered to the areas with spatulas while still moist. A diluted gum tragacanth kept the particles in place and when this was thoroughly dry the jewelry was placed in an electric kiln for fusing. Enamel is really the product of various oxides and fluxes and is colored glass. The firing is a matter of judgment and experience and sense. The results are dependent on the size of the piece, the temperature of the kiln and the material that is the base. Most firing is done by the coloration which is a dull cherry red. A pyrometer indicating temperature is a great help and the usual temperature is about 1400-1500 degrees F. When the piece is removed from the kiln it rests quietly until cool and if all goes well should have a perfectly smooth surface with no flaws. To make the enamel the same level as the gold surrounding it, the piece is stoned with a fine carborundum until all mounds and depressions have disappeared. This is then washed under running water and when dry fired again.
Many of my pieces enjoy wide acceptance and at the present time these designs, after many years in the market place, are considered "bread and butter".
