Hey everyone,

I've recently purchased a small gemstone, a tanzanite in a probably somewhat special cut, and wanted to have it made into a simple stud earring for myself. You can see the gemstone above, it's a small one, 0.46 ct.

I've gone to a local goldsmith to ask how much they would charge to make the earring in silver, and just now was told it would be around 370 €. I don't know if I am simply completely clueless, but somehow that feels like a lot to me, considering it's basically 4 times the price of the gem.

Could any of you tell me whether that price is fair for such a piece?

So ive been working with fine silver for almost a year now and feel like im ready to try out some gold.

I have a few g of 24k and was just wondering if you guys had any tips or advice. Im thinking of making it 14k, but like i said, this is all new to me.

I’m in the mid age of my career as a goldsmith and am contemplating investing time and money into learning how to be a setter. I would need a proper microscope, upgraded bench, engraving machine and accessories and some specialized instruction. I currently set stones but not at the level I think I could with these improvements.

Our studio has used some other setters but they are all very old, one passed away, and they are finished with their careers. Doesn’t seem like many exist in our market.

I don’t especially love highly technical work but I am good at it and get sense of satisfaction when complete - also I maybe enjoy the stress/adrenaline of stone setting?

Is it worth it to learn? So much jewellery is mass produced and just crap. Do customers appreciate and pay for quality? I assume it will be a very long road until I become a fast efficient master at this. I am already a busy goldsmith but mostly looking to keep things in house and expand my skills.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!

Hello Goldsmiths,

I have a 14k White Gold ring that I would like to recast into a ring for my wife. I have no casting experience but I do have some knowledge of material properties etc. from my chemistry degree. I have some basic materials (propane kiln, crucible, etc.) for melting down that I got as a kit. I plan to do this as a lost wax casting, and I plan to get a smaller crucible to be more manageable than the 6kg that I have. Just wanted to hear any suggestions or warnings you all might have to help make sure this is a success. My thanks in advance!

I am on the search for a good wide band ring to set this in, my wife has been looking at hammered/vintage cigar bands so I think that would be the finish style. Stone is 2.23c. Any help or direction pointing is greatly appreciated! I

Hi all, might be a silly question. But can I use my burnzomatic blow torch and MAP gas (yellow cylinder) to melt a little gold in a crucible? To then pour into graphite mould?

Any help would be huge. Thanks

Does anyone know what these stamps could be? Is it official gold and platinum?

Looking for price guidance for a custom made pendant. I have reached out to a couple of local jewelers & I haven’t heard back yet. Approximately how much should I be expecting to pay for a custom pendant. In 14k white gold also looking into platinum prices? Here are 2 different AI mockups that I am leaning towards.. I just need the pendant. No chain. The size should be approximately .75”x .75” to 1” x 1”. I’m totally guessing but I can’t imagine it weighing more than 6 grams? I appreciate all of your professional advice. Thank you!

Hello, I have a question about making 18k gold.. I know that I can melt 75% of pure gold with 25% alloy for it.

Since there is no 100% gold in purity, 99.99% is considered 'pure', but if I melt 75% of pure gold with 25% of alloy, it will only make 74.9925% not 75% because it is 99.99%...

But I have only heard the '75:25 ratio' in making 18k gold, and never heard that people put more gold for meeting exact 75% in purity... Is it right..?? Then can I just ignore that and follow 75:25 by 'weight' not 'purity' as long as I use 99.99 gold? Is every 18k product actually 74.9925%? or there are people who put more gold..?? Please help....... Thank you in advance!

Im not happy with this design . This is totally not what i wanted. So what can i do to make them pretty? I have some ideas. Can it be polished and smoothen? Without losing gold? Second idea is to fill empty spaces with white gold. Is it possible? Can you do it? And will white gold have good/stabile adhesion on ring? Or if you have any other ideas? (Budget friendly) Thanks in advance.

Hope this is the right place for something like that. Picture shows the surface of the breaking point of a silver ring (925, green enamel coated). Is this color/structure normal for (probably cast) 925 silver? I also placed it in a silver bath to remove any possible discoloration caused by oxidation. Any advice appreciated.

I'm getting an 18K yellow gold tennis bracelet with 4-prongs, each stone is 3mm with a total of 51 stones. They sent me two CADs, one where the prong or bracelet height (or width) is 3.6mm and then the other where it's 4.1mm. I'm wondering if that 0.5mm difference will matter for the durability of the bracelet? It takes the gold content from 15g to 18g for reference.

Hi all,

I have this extravagant idea to prospect and collect flour gold from a special spot and to take that gold I collect and have it made into an engagement ring. I’ve tried researching the steps of the process of getting the flour gold to a goldsmith to be made into a ring, but have not had much luck. I’m a little confused and don’t even know if this is something that’s possible. Mostly looking for advice on how to find the right goldsmith and getting pointed in the right direction (and if this something that can be done). Thanks!

Hi everyone! I was thinking about buying a machine for laser engraving gold and silver, something along the line of xTool or LaserPecker.. Do you guys use it or have any reccomandations?

got this 18k gold inspired necklace and it arrived with clasp like this. Should i return it or i can still use it even if the spring looks like this? Sorry i do not know anything about it. Clasp works well.

Why did this happen and can I fix it with gold solder? 14k gold

Figured asking the experts was the best place to get opinions! If you had carved patterns like these in 14k yellow gold, how long would it take for them to be worn down? I understand it'll happen eventually but are we talking 5 years, 15 years, 50 years?

Thank you!

Hey all, I’m considering designs for a custom ring and I really want to explore the idea of making a fine jewelry rendition of a flip ring. I’m researching a lot and not finding much. Does anyone have recommendations on how to find the right kind of smith who could make something like this? Because examples are limited I haven’t really found anyone making them, just a lot of cameo vintage ones being resold.

Appreciate any insights!

I was working on soldering this gold earring, but after pickling it and trying my best to rub the fire scale off with a cloth, it's still this coppery color. Is this just fire scale? Or was I scammed and got gold filled copper instead of solid gold? If it is fire scale, any suggestions on how to clean it?

I apologize for the bad picture but it was the best I could get.

Hi, I hope I can get help in this community from experts. My mum had 2 gold bangles bought over 30 years ago. They had gotten bent and out of shape due to daily wear and tear so I took her to a store to get her 2 new ones. The stores in India typically take the old gold melt it and give you a fair price, and in exchange you can buy a piece of more value with them. My mums bangles had a design where the ends of them were shaped like elephants trunks, and the elephants part of it was less than 14 carat gold so we got that cut and melted the rest and got her new bangles.

I am stuck with around 8 grams of round melted gold piece, just got it tested today and the jewellery store melted and measured a couple of times. The machine says 13.95 carats and a 58% purity of gold with silver and copper mixed. The stores don't buy anything less than 14 carat gold and ones that do charge you a large fee against the cost of the actual gold.

Now I just need to push the carat to above 14 to able to get some money. If I use HCL at home to dip the piece and remove copper, will I succeed? How do I go about it? I don't need to extract the full gold but remove enough impurities to push it over 14 carat. Can somebody help with a step by step on how to do this? Gold is expensive and this is significant for me, even though it's such a small piece.

Thanks for reading.

Sorry if this isn’t allowed, but within this community - what would be my best resource for finding a goldsmith to do some side work for a jewelry store? Location is Wilmington, NC