Jewelry Making Techniques Book (Quarto Book)

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

Basic but nicely illustrated book. Good for beginners. Not available new so I was forced to buy used from Hippo Books. My “very good” condition book came with someone’s writing on the pages.

If you have any interest in making jewelry, buy this book . . . have some experience under your belt. Not for the fainthearted!

The book came faster than I expected. Good book in great shape!

Book in excellent shape. Thank you

Slightly faded but good condition 👌

A+

sweet with one fun ideas nothing cutting edge

I appreciated this book so much!I am not a beginner, not an expert either, but I love any book that presents jewelry making techniques in a manner that gets my inspiration juices going, and this book does just that.It is not exactly a beginner's book, but it can be understood by all beginners and will inspire them to take up techniques they have not yet tried.The images for the instructions, the list of needed material for each project, the step by step text intructions, the samples images of jewelry by other artists, everything is well done and helpful. Then comes the projects, each one is classy and beautiful.The book starts with tools, equipment and material a jeweler uses to create. It explains what the materials are used for and the projects explain how they are used. The projects teach a wide variety of techniques and use the tools introduced earlier to practice hands on. I already learned a few new tricks!This is a must for any level of jewelry makers.Mireille DalpéEarth, Stone and Wire Jewelry, Ottawa, Canada

Great book