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It is not generally appreciated that jewellery design and manufacturing technology are interdependent. So how do design and technology interact? What can technology offer the designer?

Market research shows that today’s women want innovation and quality in their lives and this applies to the jewellery they wear – or want to wear. It should be environmentally friendly and safe jewellery- from a health standpoint,

of good quality workmanship as a matter of course and, importantly, be of innovative design and demonstrate exciting ‘new’ effects. Where does Technology fit into this? What relevance does it have for the jewellery designer and the jewellery producer? To illustrate new effects, the picture shows so-called ‘Purple Gold’ which is certainly an interesting colour effect in a novel gold that is hallmarkable at 18 carat. Purple gold jewellery is commercially available.

Purple gold pendant

Firstly, I make the point that it is important for designers of jewellery to understand the technology involved in jewellery manufacture. If they do not understand the capabilities and limitations of the processes and gold alloys used to manufacture their designs, they will design unmakeable or difficult to make jewellery with the associated costs involved in remedial and repeated work. Secondly, understanding technology is important in the context of the opportunities it can offer in terms of innovative design. For jewellery producers, it is equally important to understand the importance of innovative design in their business and how it can give a competitive edge.

In today’s world, women want jewellery that is produced by manufacturing processes that are environmentally friendly and cause little pollution. They want jewellery products that are safe and do not cause allergenic responses to the wearer or are a health hazard to the workforce involved in their manufacture. To achieve this, we need improved technology. The caring woman does not want cadmium or nickel in her jewellery nor manufacturing processes that pollute the atmosphere or waste waters with carcinogenic or toxic dusts, fume, solvents or cyanides, for example. Clearly, the role of technology is self evident here and there is continuing research into developing safer manufacturing processes and safer products. Non- cadmium solders and nickel-free white golds are available already, although we can anticipate further improvements. Alternatives to toxic solvents, used as cleaning fluids, treatment of effluents and waste waters from electroplating, improved atmospheric control, etc can be implemented with available technologies today. The forward-looking jewellery producer knows that the maxim “prevention is better than cure” applies in this regard.

It should also be self evident that the attainment of good physical Quality in the jewellery product – i.e. good workmanship and finish – requires the use of technology, both materials and production technology.

Now, let us turn to Design and the desire for innovative products with new shapes and effects and how it interacts with technology. This leads directly to my first contention that:

1. Design impacts on Technology

   and

2. Technology impacts on Design

What I mean by these statements is (1) that the practical realisation of a design requires the use and understanding of technology – both in materials and manufacturing processes. (2) Design demands can stimulate the development of improved technology and (3) new technology can open up new design opportunities. This is a particularly important point for designers of jewellery.

A simple illustration of this latter point is given in the next picture which shows jewellery in the striated multi-coloured golds produced by Mitsubishi, tradenamed ‘Diagold’. Other, more elaborate effects are possible, based on this simple concept. Wood grain and ‘Mokume Gane’ effects are available, for example. It is interesting to contemplate its use in wire for chain making as a means to get interesting new effects.

Diagold jewellery

Let us look at some further examples of how new technology opens up Design Opportunities. Not only have there been advances in gold jewellery materials, but there have also been advances in process technology. First, let us look at process technology:

Electroforming has come a long way in recent years and production of lightweight, large hollow jewellery in Hallmarkable carat golds in cadmium-free gold-silver alloys is now possible in the range 8 to 18 carat as well as 24 carat gold. The process uses wax mandrels – as in Lost Wax casting – and consequently has a reduced number of processing steps; computer control enables a tight control on caratage and uniformity of thickness from one piece to another. The picture illustrates 18 ct electroformed jewellery made by this process by the firm Franz Breuning in Germany. Electroforming is a good example of technology giving new design opportunities. How else can you make such complex 3-dimensional shapes?

Electroformed 18 ct gold jewellery

Other examples of design opportunities afforded by new process technology include use of machine knitting of carat gold wires, to produce knitted material, and thin carat gold wire cables which can replace conventional chain for necklaces, etc. Consider the use of different colours of carat gold wire in both knitting and cable-making and the design opportunities offered!

The use of laser welding and engraving also offers similar design opportunities. Consider use of a gold strip that is laminated in different colour golds. One could laser engrave, using the deep relief engraving, a decorative pattern on the strip and expose a different colour gold lying under the top layer. One can laser weld granules to sheet (the ancient granulation technique modernised) and combine different colour gold granules in decorative patterns.

The recent introduction of powder metallurgy technology to make wedding rings also gives scope for innovative design effects. Combinations of different colour gold powders (or gold and silver), layered or structured in innovative ways, could also produce interesting new effects. The Diagold effects mentioned earlier could be imitated, for example.

Now I am going to conclude with a superb example of what is currently possible in terms of the increased design opportunities offered by innovative materials technology: The new Gold Clays have been developed by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, Japan, and are an exciting development. This material is a mixture of carat gold powder in an organic binder. It is literally like potters clay and can be moulded by hand using the same techniques, e.g. on a potter’s wheel. It can also be moulded in novel ways and is potentially suitable for mass production of jewellery components and pieces using cheap tooling, hence, lowering costs over conventional methods such as stamping from strip. Hollow beads are one example and each piece can be individually textured by hand, if desired, using simple hand tools. When moulded, the “gold clay” is dried and fired in an oven to produce a solid gold piece. It produces a novel surface finish, although this can be polished to a conventional bright reflective surface. The next picture shows something of the materials potential in opening up new design opportunities that cannot be achieved by conventional goldsmithing. Again, different colour golds can be innovatively combined to produce interesting effects.

Jewellery made in gold clay

A corollary of the view that technology can open up design opportunities is that a lack of technology can limit design options. Electroformed white or red gold jewellery is not yet possible, for example, neither is 21 and 22 ct electroformed yellow gold jewellery. The technology is not yet developed.

To conclude, I hope that I have demonstrated that DESIGN does depend on TECHNOLOGY. Innovative design depends on innovative materials and process technology. New technology can open up innovative design possibilities which, in turn can give business a competitive advantage!

Christopher W.Corti

This is adapted from a presentation given by the author at various WGC seminars.

Read a paper from the Santa Fe Symposium on this subject. Click here. (325 kb)