New packaging has been added for my silver jewelry. It is a small plastic bag that is produced with an anti-tarnish ingredient built in. The bags are copper color but still translucent so the item can still be viewed through the bag. The maker claims the bags are effective for at lest a year. User reports say they last much longer than that.
The bags are supposed to darken as they absorb the sulfur gas, a sign they are becoming less effective. I would assume in typical home use where jewelry is kept in a box or drawer, this treatment will last a considerable time. I was born and raised in a steel and coke making town. We thought sulfur filled air and black silver were normal...
I also have some anti-tarnish tabs, about an inch square (bottom of picture) that do the same job when included inside a non-treated bag.
My plan is this will save some polishing of my inventory and provide my customers with a good way to store their occasional use silver.
These items were cast and finished two days before Christmas, 2016. The heart with treble cleft was hand carved from an example in a picture I saw, that someone published. Since my wife is a piano teacher, it seemed necessary to make one of my own for her. Hand carved, it’s slightly different than the original.
The “Fleur-de-Cross” as I call them are my own original design. I can’t say no one else has made these, but these are not copied. I was asked if I could design a cross on a Fleur-de-lis and this is what I produced.
The pendants were designed using Vectric Aspire 8.5, a CNC CAD program. I recently acquired several 3D printers. They are low end plastic filament type so can’t be used to produce wax masters. I decided to make (print) proof-of-concept models with one of the 3D printers. The proofs turned out nice and could be used to show a client a life size example of a new design before committing to the long process of real production.
It is a bit hard to see, the background of the cross pendants is blackened and the high points buffed up to shiny silver. They are very sharp looking and I think they will be popular addition to my collection.
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| 3d Printed in ABS plastic. For some reason they remind me of the BSA | I'll be making more of these, I think |
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| I enjoy 100% hand carving |
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These were made by request. There were some examples in the case my wife carries to show and sell some of my jewelry. Not too practical to build the entire alphabet just on spec. Ha! It's nice to do custom work but it does mean it has to be finished in a reasonable time. Custom work goes to the head of the line. The "open" J's required some scale model testing to be certain just where the loop should go. I got it correct.
These rings are hand made custom desisgns. They are both lost wax casting first carved in wax. Slight irregularites are an identifying feature of truely hand made jewelry. However they seldome dominate the design.
The ring design on the left has been made several times. I wear one myself, but this one is new. Same size as the one on the right.
The ring on the right is a custom one off design (so far) made for a person who has a passion for brewing craft beer. He especially loves wheat beer and those are ears of wheat encircling the band. It's a design he specifically requested.
KautzCraft Studio specializes in custom carved lost wax designed rings. Look through the gallery photos and see as few examples of past designs.