At this point of working at Regency, I was beginning to actually train on the skills I though I'd be working on right off the rip. Looking back it makes sense as to why I started where I did, however I did not notice nor appreciate that at the time. As such, the first month felt like a small eternity and, though the second month definitely moved faster, it was not what I was thinking I would be doing when I was told I'd be working with jewelry. I wanted to get into the repairs and designs right away, working with whatever precious metals were tossed my way, and I was given stone memorization and watch batteries instead. I mean to say none of this with bitterness, rather to simply highlight how happy I was when I was given a torch and scrap jewelry.
I'm Thomas and this is a documentation of my experience learning how to become a jeweler. It's been sometime since I last posted anything however that has not been due to a lack of desire to, rather out of a lack of time. Between getting ready for the most hectic time of year for jewelry stores, doing customers repairs, and trying to learn (and improve) from any job I can I've been a bit busy. However I have time now, so let's get into May and the escapades therein.
May marked the start of my training on repairs. Specifically doing ring sizings, and just solders to start. The way this all started was Jeff got a ring out of the scrap that was outside of the 10 day hold period (we hold jewelry that we buy for 10 days just in case the person who sold it changes their mind). The ring was just a plain wedding band. 14 karat yellow gold. he took a jewelers saw, and cut through it. After doing a demonstration as to how to solder and clean a simple ring, he gave the ring to me and told me to do the same. To simplify the following events, that ring was getting melted down anyways so it is what it is. My first time soldering was just about what one would expect. The very first time went suprisingly well, and then the subsequent times were a bit lesser in quality. Beginners luck and all. After I got a bit better I started to actually size rings down, making sure I can accurately cut out and file down pieces. For the most part, that was all of May. I was still working at getting better with polishing and I would still change watch batteries sporadically, but simple solders were my May experience.
That seems to be all the time I have for now. May was fun. Learning how to use the torch, how to know what to look for in the flame to make sure you're at the right heat, cutting scrap open just to rebuild it, seeing the difference between yellow and white gold solder flow. Over all an enjoyable time in my training, though June would hold another rather large test. Until then, stay safe and have a wonderful day
Sincerely
- Thomas R. Hildreth
