Metalsmithing is the traditional method of jewellery making using the various metal forming techniques. My background of metal forming goes back to those days of handling injection mould components as part of my research. Major differences are that one cannot use too much force on a jewellery piece and every speck of dust (due to sawing or filing) in jewellery making is precious. During the process of learning the metalsmithing techniques, I could draw many similarities that was learnt during my Mechanical Engineering lessons: heat treatment, annealing, rolling, wire drawing, stamping etc. The new techniques that I got to learn during the metalsmithing class were soldering using solder sheets, filigree, granulation and stone setting etc.
Granulation
Dr Maria Low 