Dealing with Metal Costs
Tuesday March 18, 2008
You probably have heard the news by now - The cost of gold is now over $1,000 mark. Granted, it will change a little from day to day as all metal prices will, but this just brings home the struggle that many jewelry makers are dealing with these days: all metal costs are on the rise. Has this affected your jewelry designing at all? If so, how do you deal with this?
We are brainstorming about this right now over at the Jewelry Making Forum, but feel free to add your ideas in the comments here. Even though we don't all use gold, in fact most of use have preferred to use lower-costing silver for some time, the overall cost of metal is still a concern for many jewelry makers right now.
Comments
I have overcome the silver/gold bead need with seed beads. They are my specialty, and my passion, and I’ve become very detailed in my addition of seed beaded beads and spacers and toggles in place of the gold and silver. Want it to LOOK like gold or silver – just use gold or silver seed beads. One tube of seed beads goes a LOOOONG way – and is significantly cheaper than gold and silver. Plus the added bonus of this added detailed work makes my things more unique – much to my delight at the request of the local art gallery to carry my work BECAUSE of these added seed bead details.
I have begun using “alternative” metals. I’ve loved brass and copper for years, but it was always considered “taboo” to use them in the past.
Red brass had a similar warm glow to gold, and I’ve seem rose gold pieces that i would have sworn were bight copper.
Buy from a reputable jewelry supply house, like
http://monsterslayer.com
I even make copper and red brass ear wires, and surprisingly few people have allergic reactions to the metal. Even less than surgical steel, which may contain nickel.
Some folks experience skin darkening, but this can be prevented by coating the wire in a bit of liquid bandage, or use a pre-coated wire.
For those who are nervous about earrings, offer oxidized sterling silver as an ear wire option (because black goes with everything) or try colored niobium.