Jewelry Making Techniques Book (Quarto Book) [Paperback]

Elizabeth Olver (Author)

Book Description

Series: Quarto Book | Publication Date: November 15, 2001

Jewelry making is a captivating subject that allows even beginners to make objects of real beauty and lasting value. This guide blends more than 50 simple techniques with more sophisticated methods to enable readers to build on their skills at home or in a small workshop. Starting with pieces that focus on the basics, the projects progress into more complex, eye-catching designs. Detailed illustrations show how to master potentially challenging methods, including mitering and stone setting. Large color photos of finished pieces using an array of gorgeous metals and stones provide additional inspiration while showing the practical application of each technique. In-depth sections cover: * Tools, equipment, materials and chemicals * Weighing, measuring and cutting various metals and stones * Cutting, forming, soldering, casting and stone-setting * Decoration and assembly * Finishes and surface decoration * Fittings and findings

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elizabeth Olver has a Masters degree in jewelry making and design and teaches at the college level. Her work is sold in many stores and galleries, including Harrod's and Saks Fifth Avenue. Olver is also the author of Jewelry Design: The Artisan's Reference.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (November 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581802102
• ISBN-13: 978-1581802108
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #596,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not ...very good., April 30, 2005

By 

reader of France (France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jewelry Making Techniques Book (Quarto Book) (Paperback)

The first twenty pages are interesting because the author take the time to describe the tools and material needed for jewelry making.
But after the author try to describe the most jewelry techniques in a minimum of page: only one or two pages for each technique.
It is very insufficient.The photos are also to small.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, but doesn't stand by itself, March 13, 2009

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jewelry Making Techniques Book (Quarto Book) (Paperback)

Olver has put together a gorgeous book. Every page contains legible photos, often six or more per page, showing the tools, techniques, and outcomes of a master jeweler, but with plenty of instruction and inspiration for the aspiring beginner. The book opens by presenting the jeweler's tools and materials, with conversion tables between traditional and modern measurements (e.g. wire gauge numbers to mm diameter). Nearly the whole rest of the book presents techniques, usually as a two page spread for each one. The upper part of the spread discusses the technique and its applicability in a general way, then the lower half or two-thirds demonstrates the technique in words and photos. The how-to pictures and wonderful samples of finished pieces make this a real joy to thumb through.

The difficulty comes when you slow down enough to try to learn a technique from that two-page spread. US readers will find themselves hindered by wire diameters and sheet metal thicknesses in millimeters rather than AWG - well, the rest of the educated and industrialized world uses metric, so you'll just have to suck it up and bookmark the conversion tables. (Olver normally provides inch approximations to each mm measure, with a refreshing disdain for over-fussy conversion factors.)The real problem comes from brevity. There's only so much you can say in a two-page spread on raising, chasing, or foldforming, when entire books have been dedicated to each of those techniques by itself. Then, reliance on photos sometimes gets in the way. In the sections on knit metal, for example, I'm sure that an experienced knitter will dive in and get great results. Someone like me who never acquired the skill would have appreciated a nice, clear drawing or two instead of photos and words that assume you already know what's going on. Olver also presents advanced techniques, such as custom 'blanking' tools for large runs of repetitive shapes, amid elementary techniques like soldering. This leaves a somewhat confused image of what a beginner should focus on first, and glosses over complexities like hardening the blanking tool for long production runs.

Treat this book as an illustrated (if not the most complete) index to jewelers' techniques, and it's a lot of fun. Anyone trying to master the basics might be frustrated by its terseness, though.

3 stars for instructional value, 5 for breadth a curiosity-inducing pictures, 4 over all.

-- wiredweird

24 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Jewelry Making Techniques Book, January 23, 2002

By 

Ching-Yen Huang (Taipei Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jewelry Making Techniques Book (Quarto Book) (Paperback)

This is the book I looked for. It has large color photos and detailed step-by-step instructions. It is not only for beginners but also covers challenging techniques. Although the book concentrates on making techniques, it gives very nice examples to apply the techniques.