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Title: The Encyclopedia of Jewelry-Making Techniques: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques
ISBN: 1561385263
Author:
Jinks McGrath
Publicate Date: 1995-09
Publish: 1995-09
List Price: $27.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $16.06
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $13.79
Amazon Merchant Price: $18.45
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| Customer Review: |
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1: same old viewing problem
Once again I find myself reviewing not the book, but the "search inside" function. This one is just plain weird. Whoever decided what was to be shown of the iside of the book, left in all the instructions (!) and blanked out all of the pictures - as if you could rip off the techniques from looking at the pictures! Now the problem with this way of displaying - or not displaying the contents of a book, is that I want to see what SORT of jewelry is being turned out - or how will I know whether it is worth my while. Or my money. This is where a real bookstore comes in I guess. Or a library. Browsing is necessary to buying some sorts of books.
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2: A beautiful but superficial overview of jeweler's techniques.
I've been setting stones and soldering findings to chains and making bezel settings for a couple of years and want to branch out so I was specifically looking for an introduction to jeweler's techniques such as mokume gane, reticulation, etching, forging, advanced soldering, gem setting (such as bead settings, pave etc...), polishing, fusing, granulation, ingraving, etc... This book looked perfect. It has sections for all that stuff and more. The production values of the book and the quality of illustration photographs are excellent. Sections are organized alphabetically with a an inspirations sections at the back with lots of lovely pics of nicely finished pieces that were made with concepts in the book.
The problem is with the actual content. Each section is just a couple or a few pages long. Concepts are introduced, given just a paragraph or two - and then that's it. Step by step photo illustrated instructions are not referenced in the text per se and almost always lack a picture of the finished piece or effect, leaving you sometimes scratching your head as to what you are supposed to end up with. For example, the section on Mokume Gane gives great step by step instructions and illustrations about how to sandwich, solder, cut and layer - and then dent up to file off and show the layers. But there's no picture of the front of the mokume gane after the filing so you can see what all that work achieved. There's a single picture of a pave setting, but no instructions on how to get there or what a beading tool looks like or how it is used. For gem setting there's a great step by step of making and setting a bezel, but for facet stones there's only a brief step by step on making a basket. There's no specific instruction on how to notch prongs or how to bend them to set - just the phrase "bend prongs over the stone to set". This isn't sufficient to actually help you do it. The section on sawing shows you what a saw looks like and how to saw a right angle, but lacks a table instructing you which saw blade works with which thickness of metal. Every area of this book suffers from too much brevity and a lack of useful details.
I'm not going to say that this book was worthless. The section on bending and the section on catches are great. I learned a few great tips too - like the use of a spitstick to clean up the top of a bezel setting. I benefited from seeing the step by step illustrations of many techniques I didn't know. But I did not get enough information to actually execute any of these unknown techniques. I'd say that this book is a good visual orientation on what these techniques are, what tools are used, and what it looks like doing these techniques. It's too brief, however, to give you enough instruction to really execute the illustrated techniques. This book just isn't enough - it's an illustrated introduction that requires additional more in depth texts to actually help you get that stuff done.
Follow-up (May 2008): Am I just hard to please? Perhaps, but I have subsequently found a similar book of introduction that I do feel gives enough detail to actually do the projects: James Codina's "The Complete Art of Jewelry Making". Although I'll grant the aesthetics of the examples in McGrath are better, as a guide to technique I consider Codina to be superior.
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3: Great book, test your interest in making "real" jewelry
If you just want to buy pieces and put them together- this is not the book for you. If you honestly want to learn jewelers skills then you will be pleased with this book. I have really enjoyed this book and it has led to many new ideas. This one will stay in my library.
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4: Pretty Pictures, Not Much Usable Advice
I purchased this book in the hopes that it would help me expand my technique with jewelry making and design. Almost all of the techniques covered in the books would take thousands and thousands of dollars in equipment and supplies to actually impliment. It's only really useful for professional jewelers working for big companies with big bucks. It is however interesting and pretty. If you are curious about various techniques such as enameling, reticulation, oxidization and mokume gane, than this is a good book. Even though I am a jeweler and an artist, this will just be a "coffee table book" for me.
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5: Great reference book for anyone who is not yet up to Master level
This is a perfect book that combines text and plenty of images to demonstrate both bare bones beginning jewelry making technique as well as more advanced technique (including making some of your own tools!).
I bought a copy of this after taking it out of our local library and I am very pleased with it...Very thorough. Very easy to understand. For those who are really just starting out it's almost like the "idiot's guide" to the Complete Metalsmith...Not that this is dumbed down but there is alot of terminology in Metalsmith that requires one to know the foreign language first...This book assumes almost no knowledge from the reader, but doesn't babytalk or oversimplify either.
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