Moondog's Jewelry Article Gets Published

I'm so honored to have my article, All About Precious Silver Clay with Moondog Treasures, published in this month's issue of Jewelry Business Success News with Rena Klingenberg.  I have subscribed to this publication for several years.  It's actually the first place that I ever heard about Etsy.  Thank you, Rena!!


Bronze paua shell and sterling silver
wire pendant by Rena Klingenberg

Finishing the Precious Silver PMC Pendants

The previous blog entry showed precious silver in its clay form, after it had been shaped and stamped.   These next few photos show the finishing process.

(Above) Fresh from the kiln. Fired at 1200 degrees F for 20 minutes


(Above) Soaking in a baking soda solution after being dipped in liver of sulphur.

The two pics below are the finished pieces.  The "namaste" is a custom order for a friend.  The "Be the Change" is for sale in my shop.



 

All about Precious Silver with Moondog Treasures

PMC is Precious Metal Clay.  This material was created by the Mitsubishi Corporation in the early 1990s as a way to recover silver, gold, and platinum from old computers, medical instruments and photography supplies.  A method was developed that allowed the combination of precious metals into a type of clay that could be used to make jewelry and other products.

The PMC comes to me in clay form.  It contains of particles of pure silver mixed with an organic binder. I take images and letters and press them into the clay (see photos below), then fire in my kiln at 1200 degrees. When the binder is burned away during firing, it leaves a pendant of 99.9% pure silver. 

It's nice to know that PMC is made with sustainable/recycled materials.  I am even able to use the leftover clay and “mistakes” again by re-constituting the clay and creating a new product.

Clay in its raw form, before firing.

I'm adding a few new designs to my PMC pendant collection:  Mahatma Gandhi's quote, "Be the Change"/"harmony" with lotus flower/tiny om pendants/"moksha" (sanskrit word for freedom) with om symbol/"ananda" (sanskrit word for bliss) with lotus flower.  Some other best-sellers I'm including are the "namaste" ring pendant, Ganesh pendant and om symbol pendants.

All of these will be for sale soon (after they're fired in the kiln and polished) in my online shop, Moondog Treasures.

PMC in its finished form.