Do we need prior experience to do this class?
Absolutely not this is a course designed for absolute beginners, or those who have maybe done the odd class a while back. We teach you all the basics of the ancient craft of wax carving.
Do we get to keep the jewellery we make?
Yes you do! There’s an added extra for the material, not much, but we will charge you the trade price for the jewellery you have cast- this includes a casters cost and the price of the metal you use.
Can someone under the age of 18 take part?
Unfortunately as this is a very hands on course with some dangerous equipment we can accept 16- 18 year olds but anyone under 18 will need to be accompanied by an adult, and for them to do the course as well, this is due to very limited space in our classrooms so space is like gold dust! Minimum age is 10 years old.
I have my own design – can I bring it along with me and make it in this course?
Absolutely! This is a course that welcomes you to bring your designs in, in fact we ask you to send in some ideas/drawings the week before you start the course so that we can get a better idea of how to help you create it! Exciting : ) Just remember that whatever it is that you make you will need to have it cast into silver, and that is sold by the gram, so the heavier/chunkier the piece the more
expensive and the harder it will be to finish it in time, hence why we ask to see your drawings first so we can make sure they are possible to make!
I have a stone I would like to set in this course, can I?
So as this course helps you learn the skills of wax carving, gem setting is a whole other skill, that requires a different course/more time ( we do have one of these courses in fact! ) However, if your bring a long the stone you would like set in it, once your piece is cast and you have finished it off we can take it off and set it for you, there will be a separate trade price for this, and we can quote you for this once we see the stone.
I want a very particular stone to be set, can you get it for me?
Unfortunately we don’t get stones in specifically for people, as they are so personal with different qualities and colours to them. But we can give you the two websites we use to buy gemstones.
They are: https://www.wardgemstones.com/ https://ruppenthal.com/
What stones do you have that we can use on this course?
We have lots! The range is too big to have everything photographed, and online, but we are very confident that you will find something you like in our box of treasures : ) And all at very reasonable trade prices.
I would like to get the jewellery I make gold plated as I don’t wear silver, is this possible?
Yes! Leave it with us after the course and we will send it off to get it hard gold plated with 2 microns of 18ct gold plate. This process costs €25 per item + postage ( if you can’t collect it from our shop ) and it takes approx 2 weeks.
Can I make the jewellery in solid gold?
Yes you can, of course gold is a lot more expensive than silver. We can get a quote for you once you have made your piece in wax, by phoning the casting company for you. Then you can decide if you want it made into silver or gold.
Do we get to keep the mould afterwards?
So we use the lost wax casting process, so once you send in your wax it melts out to make way for the silver, so there is no mould. However, after you have your piece back and if you are pleased enough with it that you want to get a mould made of it- we can get that done for you with the same casting company. To get a quote for you, we would need to see your piece first.
I would like to engrave some letters into my wax piece, will this work?
Yes! You can absolutely carve letters/symbols into your piece of wax and it will come out in the silver. You will be shown how in your class. As this is your first time it might look a bit rustic, if you want something more perfect engraved we can send it off to get it engraved for you. This costs approx €30 per piece depending on what you would like engraved. We can give you an exact quote once we have more details from you.
If you have any other questions not listed here, please feel free to reach out by contacting Silverworks here.