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Parent Category: Technical Articles from Journal Back Copies

Category: Technical Articles 1999

Mike Warren

My interest and pleasure in enamelling seems to have developed into the making of items in champlevé silver jewellery. Usually when starting a piece of work, I have soldered a square section wire around the edges, but this has to be done very carefully and the solder can often discolour the enamels and sometimes produces gas bubbles which can cause escalating problems. Cutting the cells with scorpers has achieved quite good results, however it is for me very time consuming, and it is obvious that it takes years of practice to really master this technique.

Etching with nitric acid is another alternative - very much faster cutting, but has a tendency to cut sideways and needs respect in handling. My preference is to use something safer if it will give me a satisfactory result. Using Ferric Chloride on copper and brass in a weak etch of 1 part to 7 of water has always surprised me how cleanly it cuts [4oz Ferric Chloride to 100 ccs stock solution]. I am now trying the equivalent on silver. Unfortunately there is very little written information available and I possess most of the enamelling books. Gudde Skyrme and Peter Wolfe's booklet [Camden Workshops] seems to be the only one that I found mentioning this etchant; even Oppi Untracht's 800 page “Concepts of Jewellery” has no mention, also “Glass on Metal” has not covered it to my knowledge.

The following procedure has given good results from the first trial.

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