Townsman, 1991-02, Page 26London, as far as he knows. "So
many come out of the course heavily
in debt. They need a job anywhere,
right away, so they can pay back
student loans and other debts built
up while attending school. By the
time they can afford to get out of
production work and start on their
own, they've lost the technique,"
he explains.
The course is apparently quite
expensive. The first couple of years,
students are working in copper and
brass before eventually moving onto
silver. "I was very fortunate," says
Robert, "as I taught metals at the
school during the summers while I
was a student there. That covered
my tuition and left a little money for
supplies as well.
Now on his own Robert still works
in pretty well any type of metal. His
gold jewellery is made using only 14
or 18 karat. • Anything less is,
according to Robert, not good
enough; anything higher is too soft.
Anything less
than 14 karat
not good enough
"Ten karat gold has only 10 parts
out of 24 that are gold the rest being
comprised of base metals like
copper, brass and silver," he said.
"Twenty-two karat wears out in a
year or two while eighteen karat still
has nice colour and you get the
hardness you need." Trying to
make jewellery out of 22 karat gold
Robert says, is almost impossible,
because of its softness. "You can't
set stones in it without it bending.
In the long run it will be even more
expensive because you have to keep
having it repaired. Shanks on rings
made of 22 karat gold can be bent
simply by pushing on them, he
says. In England, goldsmiths are
permitted to use nine karat in their
jewellery, which Robert says, has a
pinkish colour. This is not allowed
in Canada, however. Robert can
make different colours of gold by
adding other alloys, but, he warns,
you do lose some of the quality.
In addition to making original
creations, Robert does all types of
redesigning and resetting as well.
"Often people will come in with
their engagement ring and want to
have a wedding band that will
interlock."
He does repair work, such as
enlarging and can even duplicate a
lost earring. "I can often make
repairs that other jewellers can't
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24 TOWNSMAN/FEBRUARY-MARCH 1991