Photoetching Metal Using Photocopy Transfer

Step by Step Guide to Single Row Pave Settings

Curb and Cable Chains Project

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Milt Fischbein is an independent metal artist and educator. He is a professional engineer who discovered his love of working with precious metals almost 30 years ago while taking an introduction to jewelry class at the Alberta College of Art and Design. He is one of only a handful of metal artists in North America whose primary focus is the design and fabrication of filigree objects. Milt has been fine-tuning ancient filigree fabrication techniques in his Calgary Alberta studio, creating a body of contemporary silver and gold filigree jewelry.

Premium Videos by Milt Fischbein

User Blogs Archive

The Beginner’s Corner is your introduction to jewelry techniques and terms. Get the basics on everything from equipment to proper working posture.

Beginner's Corner

From fake gemstones to armed robbery, jewelry and crime unfortunately come together too often. Watch our videos and learn how this can affect you.

Jewelry and Crime

Jewelry makers need to know all they can about ever-popular diamonds. Learn how diamonds are graded and how they’re commonly enhanced.

Diamonds

Get the stories behind the design of exquisite jewelry pieces and talented artists. Here you’ll find many styles and types of work represented.

Behind the Design

Every aspect of jewelry making and every imaginable technique.

Jewelry Making

Track down and correct defects in your cast jewelry with the help of our casting troubleshooting series. Also, learn how to prevent common errors.

Casting Troubleshooting

Learn 3D enameling techniques from an expert, who adds transparent enamel designs to three-dimensional art objects, and apply them to jewelry making.

3D Enameling

Learn chain making and repair for necklaces, bracelets, and other pieces. Our articles cover jewelry making techniques, tools, and materials.

Chain Making

Understanding metallurgy, the properties of metals, is vital for jewelry makers. Learn how to test metals, identify alloys, and work these materials.

Metallurgy

Depletion gilding is an ancient gold surface treatment, now superseded by electroplating. Add this technique to your repertoire for antique repairs.

Depletion Gilding

Sometimes jewelry makers need to make adjustments to standard tools to finish unique pieces. Our articles will help you customize your tools.

Customize Your Tools

With a wax build-up, a jewelry maker can create a casting model around a gem or other object to be included in the piece. Learn this technique here.

Wax Build-up

In the Studio Visit series, see how well-known jewelry makers equip and organize their workspaces. Get inspired and build your own dream studio.

Studio Visits

Our Bench Tips and Tricks section covers jewelry making and repairs. Get the most from your tools and materials, from mandrels to palladium to gems.

Bench Tips and Tricks

Learn how to showcase your jewelry effectively. Our articles on jewelry displays include information on color trends and how to construct displays.

Jewelry Displays & Packaging

Gem carving is a challenging art form. Read about its history as well as modern interpretations in both stand-alone pieces and jewelry.

Gem Carving

Take an in-depth look at jewelry making styles across the globe, artist profiles, and other articles on the world of jewelry in our Features section.

Features

The back plate of a squid, as a jewelry casting material, can yield amazing textures. Add the cuttlefish casting technique to your repertoire.

Cuttlefish Casting

Artists use basse-taille enamel to create stunning low-relief designs on metal. Add this technique to your jewelry making repertoire.

Basse Taille Enamel

Add chain maille techniques to your jewelry making repertoire. Our videos will show you how to weave wires, link chains, and start various projects.

Chain Maille

Refining or purifying metals (including recycling scraps) plays a key role in the quality of your metal jewelry. Learn the basic techniques here.

Refining

Learn how e-coating (electrostatic coating) can add vibrant colors to your metal jewelry. Check out the latest methods and tools and see the results.

E-Coating

If you need to save money or can’t find the right tool, homemade tools may be a solution. See how other jewelry makers have made their own equipment.

Homemade Tools

With wax carving, jewelry makers can create exquisite shapes and details in casting models. Our articles cover the tools and techniques you’ll need.

Wax Carving

Master the tools and techniques for jewelry repairs. Our articles cover everything from resizing rings to repairing emerald jewelry with lasers.

Jewelry Repairs

Our Health Hazard section identifies jewelry making materials and procedures that may pose health risks. Read these articles and stay safe.

Workshop Health and Safety

Whether through websites, social media, or print catalogs, your jewelry photography connects you to customers. Learn to make the best use of images.

Jewelry Photography

From diamonds to gemstones of all types, learn what you need to know about gemology as it pertains to jewelry making.

Gemology

Learn about the business side of the gem world in our GemBiz section. Our articles cover mining, new discoveries, gem values, and gem cutting.

Gem Business

Exhibition

Master the lost wax casting technique for jewelry making. Our articles cover materials, tools, and procedures as well as product reviews and advice.

Lost Wax Casting

Champlevé adds enamel to etched metal designs. Learn about this ancient technique and its tools and how to use it to create amazing jewelry pieces.

Champleve

Jewelry makers use chasing and repoussé techniques to add ornamental relief to metals. Our articles cover procedures, tools, and design tips.

Chasing and Repousse

Engraving metal opens a world of design possibilities for jewelry makers. Our engraving articles cover the techniques and tools you’ll need.

Engraving

Jewelry makers may use a variety of power tools and shop machines. Learn techniques and tips for getting the most from your power equipment.

Shop Machines

From organization, to accessibility, to safety.

Jewelry Studio

Whether you’re dealing with jewelry mass production as competition or conducting your own large-scale jewelry project, our articles can help.

Mass Production of Jewelry

Learn about the tools of the trade with our articles on gemological equipment. Microscopes, polariscopes, lighting, and more are covered here.

Gemological Equipment

Get inspired by our jewelry design articles.

Jewelry Design

Awards

Learn everything from how to make string beaded jewelry to how to make beads to running your beaded jewelry business.

String Beading

Jewelry makers frequently use rubber as a mold making medium. Learn how to work with this material and how to evaluate different types of rubber.

Mold Making

Our cloisonné enamel section has how-to guides, histories, and articles on tools and materials. Enrich your jewelry with this traditional technique.

Cloisonne Enamel

Die forming is fundamental to manufacturing. With our how-to guides and equipment articles, you can apply this technique to jewelry making, too.

Die Forming

Etching metal opens a world of design possibilities for jewelry makers. Learn what tools you’ll need to get started and master the techniques.

Etching

Jewelry makers use many small tools for projects of all sizes. Our Small Tools section covers the equipment you’ll need for delicate procedures.

Small Tools

Wide variety of categories related to jewelry as a business.

Business and Marketing

Watch these videos and get an inside look at noteworthy trade shows and events in the jewelry making and gemstone world.

Trade Shows and Events

Gemstone treatments can enhance a stone’s beauty. But can you detect them and how do you disclose them? Learn about the most common techniques.

Gemstone Treatments

From archeological finds to museum galleries, explore jewelry and fabrication methods from many eras in our Jewelry History section.

Jewelry History

Our Rare Jewelry Books section will provide eBook versions, if possible, and information on hard-to-find works of interest to jewelry makers.

Books and Book Reviews

Palladium alloys have gained popularity as jewelry metals. Stay on top of the trend with our palladium casting guide, equipment suggestions, and tips.

Palladium Casting

Take a closer look at enameling history, from Ancient Greece to the 20th century and beyond, and add historical dimensions to contemporary jewelry.

Enameling History

Create beautiful, lace-like metal jewelry with filigree making techniques. Our articles cover tools, procedures, and modern takes on this ancient art.

Filigree

Learn how to create stunning designs on metal jewelry through inlay. Our articles cover techniques, tools, and a variety of inlay materials.

Inlay

This series of videos by the World Gold Council addresses economic and industrial issues that affect gold and the jewelry world.

World Gold Council

Treatments that affect gemstone coloration and dyeing are common. Learn how specific colors and even inclusions can be added to jewelry stones.

Gemstone Coloration and Dyeing

Learn how to use Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) for jewelry making. Read these program reviews and practical guides.

CAD/CAM

Our Platinum Casting section covers procedures, equipment, and troubleshooting tips for working with this prestigious and popular jewelry metal.

Platinum Casting

Enamel painting opens the door to a world of representational and abstract designs as well as colors on metal jewelry. Learn all about this technique.

Enamel Painting

Our finishing, polishing, and cleaning articles and videos will show you a wide variety of techniques for putting the final touches on your jewelry projects.

Finishing Polishing and Cleaning

Learn how to safely add exquisite Japanese patinas to your metal jewelry. Our articles cover many traditional techniques, recipes, and materials.

Japanese Patinas

Our Gemstones Information section covers a variety of gems, from amber to zoisite, and offers data on their properties, sources, and jewelry use.

Gemstones Information

Our casting videos will bring the ancient jewelry making technique to life. Learn about procedures and tools and watch custom projects take shape.

Casting

For jewelry makers, sand casting offers a quick alternative for molding metal pieces. Learn how to get the most from this traditional technique.

Sand Casting

Learn Limoges enamel techniques from an expert in this art form. Walk through the creation of beautiful, detailed enamel paintings on copper jewelry.

Limoges Enamel

Fold forming adds depth and dimension to metal jewelry. Learn this technique with the help of our how-to guides, tool articles, and project stories.

Fold Forming

Keum-Boo is an ancient Korean gilding method for adding gold to the surface of other metals. Add this technique to your jewelry making repertoire.

Keum-Boo

Our Gemstones Lore section covers gem history and folklore. Learn about famous jewelry pieces, <a href="https://www.ganoksin.com/article/birthstones/">birthstones</a>, past and current perceptions, and more.

Gemstones Lore

Jewelry making covers art, commerce, and science. In Critical Notes, experts address these facets and give advice to both beginners and professionals.

Critical Notes

Let the light shine through transparent, colorful enamel designs with plique-a-jour. Add this technique to your jewelry making repertoire.

Plique-a-jour

Master the skills of fusing and welding for jewelry making. Our articles include in-depth examples of creating and repairing pieces and tool reviews.

Fusing and Welding

Niello is a black metal mixture used since ancient times as an inlay material. Learn to mix your own niello and add it to your jewelry designs.

Niello

Visit mine sites across the globe and learn about the business and practice of gem mining. Our videos will take you up close and personal.

Gem Mining

Dichroic glass can show two different colors under different lights. Our videos will show you how to make jewelry pieces with this material.

Dichroic Glass

Granulation is the addition of tiny, decorative spheres or “granules” to metal. Add this ancient technique to your jewelry making repertoire.

Granulation

Patinas on metal objects can be beautiful. Our Patination section covers techniques and materials you’ll need to safely add patinas to metal jewelry.

Patination

Before you buy a gemstone, check out our Handbook for the Gem Buyer. It covers specific gems, gem evaluation, and what to ask when you go shopping.

Handbook for the Gem Buyer

We cover more than 10 enameling techniques in several enameling articles and videos.

Enameling

Everything you need to know about making and adding hinges and catches to your jewelry. Learn about the myriad varieties of these functional bits.

Hinges and Catches

Plating and electroforming allow jewelry makers to add ultrathin layers of metal to surfaces. Our articles cover the tools and techniques you’ll need.

Plating and Electroforming

Pearls are popular jewelry stones. Learn about their properties and varieties, as well as practical tips for repairing and working with them.

Pearls

Fabrication

Discover the sometimes surprising decorative metalworking techniques used in knives making and enter a world of functional jewelry.

Knives Making

Popular in the 60s and 70s, reticulation brings natural-looking textures to metal. Add this retro technique to your jewelry making repertoire.

Reticulation

Mokume-gane is a Japanese technique for making wood-like grain patterns in metal. Read our practical guides for adding these designs to your jewelry.

Mokume-Gane

Our lapidary articles cover gem cutting techniques and tools and include guides for setting popular gem cuts into rings and other jewelry pieces.

Lapidary

Sandblasting lets jewelry makers create matte finishes on metal pieces. Learn how to apply this technique to a variety of popular jewelry metals.

Sandblasting

Our palladium fabrication articles cover the material in detail and discuss techniques and tools for working with this popular jewelry metal.

Palladium Fabrication

Metal clay can be worked like clay, fired, and made into metal objects in many shapes. Learn to use this material in your own jewelry projects.

Metal Clay

Tumbling is the simplest way for jewelry makers to polish their pieces. Our articles cover the tumbler devices and abrasive media you’ll need.

Tumbling

Our platinum fabrication articles cover the material in detail and discuss techniques and tools for working with this prestigious jewelry metal.

Platinum Fabrication

Metal forming is a basic jewelry making skill. Our articles cover topics from calculating the amount of metal a project needs to hammering techniques.

Metal Forming

Soldering is an essential skill for jewelry making. Our articles include how-to guides, discussions of tools and techniques, and advice for repairs.

Soldering

Understand the different properties of popular jewelry metals.

Metals

Jewelry makers frequently work with tubing. Learn various techniques for cutting and bending tubing efficiently and even how to make your own tubing.

Tubing

Learn to place gemstones securely and beautifully on jewelry pieces. Our stone setting articles cover techniques and tools for setting popular gems.

Stone Setting

Wire working is an essential skill for jewelry making. Learn fundamental wire skills, how to make various findings, and other wire-based techniques.

Wire Working

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