“No matter how much one knows it is always enlightening and stimulating to sit back and listen to a Master share his own personal tips.  This is an excellent presentation.”  Alan Revere – Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts

Whether you are a beginner looking to develop your skills and build your career or a seasoned veteran of the bench looking to refresh your skills and rejuvenate your career, Bench Seminars will help jump-start your creativity and motivate you to accomplish your goals.

You’ll learn how to Work Smarter Not Harder and Achieve more in less time.  The Bench Jewelers Seminars are designed to Inform, Instruct, and Inspire Bench Jewelers to Accomplish their Best.  These seminars illustrate a myriad of Advanced Bench Techniques.  Rather than just learning from one speaker, you will experience one of the first dual instructed seminars in the industry.  As they reach into their bag of tricks you’ll be amazed at the information presented.

“I found the Bench Seminar to be informative and worth my while.  The expertise is incredible.”  John Purvis

This Full-Day of seminars is Only $195 with early registration. 
A Small Investment That Will Repay Itself Many Times Over.

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You Can Improve Your Work at the Bench

We Will Show You How ~ Register TODAY!

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Learn what works and what doesn’t from our experienced seminar leaders.  Each seminar is filled with High-Quality Content, providing Accurate Informative Instruction from Professional Bench Jewelers.  Bench Jewelers Seminars are open to all Bench Jewelers including Professional and Serious Hobbyist.  DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY to meet with Other Jewelers. 

“I’ve been very impressed with the Quality of the Teaching and the camaraderie of the jewelry artist.  I learned so much from Brad and Jurgen"  Holly Scott

 Your Paid Registration Includes:

• Platinum Bench Techniques Seminar

• Advanced Stone Setting Seminar

• Advanced Fabrication Seminar

• Bench Tips and Other Tricks Seminar

• PLUS ~ Networking Lunch

• PLUS PLUS ~ All attendees will receive 3 E-Books on Shop Management from Bench Media.

• PLUS PLUS PLUS ~ All attendees will receive a DVD and other Instructional Items from PGI.

 (The Value of the BONUS Materials More than Pays for the Cost of the Seminar!)

“The format of the seminar is very easy to follow, and the visual set up is clear and a dream to watch.  The melding of both Brad’s and Jurgen's personalities, lead to pleasurable comprehension.  More than once during the day I thought - This alone made it all worthwhile.  The sharing between attendees, added to the overall presentation.  I wholeheartedly recommend Bench Seminars.”  Teresa Masters

DON’T MISS OUT!!  Register TODAY!  

Go To:  www.BenchSeminars.com for details.

 THIS IS ONE SEMINAR YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS!

Tips for Jewelers Who Do Repairs
from Alan Revere

Seam-ly Soldering
The Meniscus And What It Means

According to the dictionary, a “meniscus” is the curved upper surface of a liquid column.  Put simply, it is the little curved edge that forms when liquid meets a solid object.  Understanding the importance of the meniscus is the key to successful soldering and assembly.

Whether you are working in brass, nickel, gold, silver, or platinum, all solders form a meniscus as they flow and then cool, freezing in place.  You can see this whenever you examine a seam: Whether it is around the post soldered to the back of an earring or at the corner between two sheets in a butt joint, there is always a meniscus.  A meniscus indicates complete solder flow; without it, the joint is suspect.

The key is to create a perfect meniscus and then not to disturb it.  You should file away the edge of any excess solder only after all soldering on the workpiece has been completed:  The problem comes if you clean the properly soldered joint, removing the meniscus, and then reheat the piece in a subsequent soldering operation.  The re-liquefied solder will form a new meniscus, which will appear as a gully along the seam.

So protect the meniscus until the piece has been heated and soldered for the final time.  Otherwise, it will come back to haunt you.

This Tip is from “101 Bench Tips for Jewelers" written by Alan Revere and published by MJSA/AJM Press.

Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts http://www.revereacademy.com

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A substantial library of articles, publications, reports, and technical data on gem and jewelry related topics; as well as a sizable collection of art and jewelry galleries, for both the casual visitor and the professional, also host the popular Orchid online forums for jewelers.

Handling Colored Stones
from Gemstone Cutter Wayne Emery

Hematite

Hematite is an iron oxide or quite literally a form of rust.  It is most often seen in jewelry in the dark gray to black form used for beads, intaglios and carvings.  But you are probably most familiar with it as rouge.  That’s correct: jeweler’s rouge is powdered hematite held together with an organic binder!

Hematite pieces will take slow heating quite well.  It ranges in hardness from 5 to about 6.5, depending on its compactness (darker is harder) and is fairly resistant to sudden changes in temperature, but extremes should always be avoided. 

Placing a hematite piece in your pickle is safe to the piece, but may contaminate your pickle.

The steamer, as usual, is to be avoided.

You can contact Wayne Emery at wayne_emery@msn.com

Quote Worth Re-Quoting

"A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Proverbs 11: 25

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Ask Jurgen
Jurgen J. Maerz CMBJ

Director of Technical Education
for Platinum Guild International
http://www.pgi-platinum-tech.com

Platinum - Durability vs. Scratching

One of the most frequently asked questions about platinum concerns scratching.  It seems the consumer equates durability with scratch resistance and is then disap­pointed when the platinum jewelry scratches and shows signs of wear.  Let me say that all metal scratches, from the finest steel to the finest platinum!

There is a major difference between durability and scratch resistance.  Platinum is very durable.  When scratched, the scratch actually displaces the metal, leaving ridges on the edges of the scratch.  This is where durability comes in.  Whereas other precious metals, if scratched, lose metal, and thus wear down, platinum does so at a much slower rate.  This is why finishes on other pre­cious jewelry wear off, prongs wear down and the rings actually become thinner and may even wear through with time.  Because many gold products, white or otherwise, are plated, and plating is creating a hard skin, they seem to have more scratch resistance than platinum.  But soon the plating wears off and the material scratches in daily wear.

With platinum, this is a different story.  Many pieces from the turn of the century have engravings that look like new, beads that hold stones appear to be just made and the overall signs of wear seem insig­nificant on platinum jewelry.  A platinum wedding band will last a life time.

As platinum scratches, it will develop a patina-like appearance that will last.  This is the reason why many designers prefer satin finishes, brushed and sand-blast finishes over the bright polished look.

Polished platinum, especially the iridium alloys, will display a bright natural white color.  In spite of daily wear and scratching, this finish will endure for a long time.

For weekly tips on working with platinum visit our blog Platinum Guru at www.PlatinumGuru.com

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Quote Worth Re-Quoting

"Work expands so as to fill time available for its completion."

Cyril Northcote Parkinson

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A Bench Jeweler’s Guide to Effective Communication
Brad Simon

LISTEN UP

A woman was apartment hunting one day and she found the perfect apartment.  It was ideal for her situation, so she signed the lease and went home to start packing.

While she was packing, she did what many of us would do and started to visualize where she would put her possessions in that new apartment.  She could envision her couch along one wall, where she could sit and watch TV, if she placed the TV just so.  The chair would look nice between those two windows, and on she went around the new apartment.

Then it dawned on her that she could not remember seeing a bathroom.  Where in the world is the toilet, she thought.  Surely there could not be one large bathroom at the end of the hall that she would share with the other tenants.

The more she thought about this the more concerned she became.  She decided to write the landlord a letter to find out where the toilet was located.  However, as she wrote she became embarrassed.  She could not write the word toilet in a letter.  What should she say?  Then she thought of the old term Water Closet.  That sounded better to her, but in her haste she abbreviated and only wrote the initials W C.

Well the landlord received the letter, and as you can imagine, did not understand what she wanted to know.  What is the W C?  What was she looking for?  Then it dawned on him.  She must want to know where the Waverly Church is located so he wrote the following response.  Now keep in mind as you read his letter that she wants to know where the toilet is located as she reads:

Dear Madam,

You will be pleased to know that the WC is located only three blocks away.  It is a lovely stroll on a nice day.

You will find that most all of the tenants use the facilities there.  Most go only once a week, and stay for an hour or two.  However, some feel it necessary to go more often.

If you go on Sundays, I suggest you go early.  Many arrive just in time and have trouble getting to a seat.  If you prefer to stay to yourself, I would suggest going on Wednesday evenings, as Sundays tend to become crowded.  Why just last Sunday it was so crowded there were nearly two people on every seat.  It was wonderful to see the expressions on their faces.

I am sure you will be pleased to know there is always musical accompaniment whenever you go there.  Everyone who goes there finds it to be a true spiritual experience and leaves feeling refreshed, and revitalized.

If I can be of further assistance, Please let me know.

Your Landlord

Miscommunication such as this is a major contributor to problems in business as well.  In fact, many of the problems in business today are the result of poor communication and jewelry stores are not exempt.

Management consultant Peter Drucker claims that 60% of all business problems result from faulty communication.  I believe the percentage may be even higher in jewelry stores when it comes to problems related to jewelry repair.  The major problems attributed to the shop are generally the result of miscommunication – miscommunication between the customer, the salesperson, and the bench jeweler.

If the date the customer was told their jewelry will be ready is not properly communicated to the bench jeweler, problems develop.  If the price given to the customer is not properly communicated to the bench jeweler, more may be charged and problems develop.  If the work that is to be performed is not properly communicated, the wrong work may be done and problems develop, and on and on it goes.

Proper take-in procedures are vitally important.  However, communication is a two-way street, and often the problems are due to inadequate reading or listening.  A recent University of Minnesota Study shows that 60% of business problems related to communication come from poor listening.

Bench jewelers are notoriously poor listeners.  How many times do we need to fix something or re-do a job, due to the fact that we did not fully listen to what we were told.  How many times do we finish a job, then when we are all finished we find we did not do a thorough job of ‘listening’ when we read the instructions.  We swear we read all the instructions, but there it is written just as plain as can be.  Concentrate on listening; don’t try to listen while doing 10 other things.  Listen for INTENT as well as CONTENT.  Repeat the main points to make certain you heard them correctly, and ask questions if you do not fully understand.

A story is told about J. Edgar Hoover, the former head of the FBI.  He had very strict rules for the format of internal memos.  Upset that a certain report writer did not follow the rules, he wrote in the margin of the report “Watch the Borders”.  The report made its rounds and all the field agents were informed to ‘Watch the Borders’.  Extra agents were deployed and sent out all along the Mexican and Canadian Borders.  Only later was the truth known.  Hoover was objecting to the size of the border (margin) the writer used in the report.  Hoover’s instructions may not have been complete, and he is partly to blame.  However, had the report writer exercised good listening skills, this problem and others like them, would have been avoided.

If we concentrate and give our full attention to listening and make an effort to improve, we will make fewer mistakes in the shop.  When we make fewer mistakes in the shop we will have less jobs to fix or re-do and less customers who are disappointed in our work.  When that happens, our productivity will increase.  When our productivity increases we will make a greater profit.  Greater profits allow the store to pay higher salaries.

Improving our listening is truly a Win–Win situation.

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