Sarah Jane Whittaker, the Sussex Jewellery School's principal and metal clay tutor explains all about silver 'clay' (also known as PMC, PMC3, Art Clay or Precious Metal Clay)
Traditionally, silver for jewellery has been made by cutting, shaping, filing and soldering sheet or wire silver, or by casting (melting and pouring( silver bullion or scrap silver.
Now, there's a radical new mouldable silver material available to goldsmiths*, called silver clay. (Brands include PMC, short for 'precious metal clay', and Art Clay.)
Silver clay consists of very small particles of pure silver, mixed with an organic binder and water, recycled from the photographic industries. Taking texture easily because it's mouldable by hand, precious metal clay can be shaped just like any soft clay, opening up a host of design possibilities, even for the beginner jeweller.
After drying, it can be fired, burning away the binder, leaving the pure, solid, 99.9% fine silver (purer than sterling silver, which is 92.5% pure). The resulting jewellery can be hallmarked by a UK Assay Office, just like any other genuine silver (although it's marked as 999 silver, rather than 925 silver, proving its fineness).
So why doesn't every goldsmith use silver clay?
First of all gramme for gramme, silver clay is much more expensive than traditional forms of silver (well over twice the price, at the time of writing). So there's a price to pay for using it - given the extremely tight margins makers of laborious handmade jewellery work with, this can be a deterrent.
New technologies aren't always absorbed quickly into the mainstream, and because the skills needed for working effectively with PMC and Art Clay are totally different to those needed for traditional silverwork, there's suspicion of precious metal clay in some jewellery-making circles.
Indeed, I've heard experienced jewellers as well as jewellery tutors (who should know better) announce confidently that 'it's impossible to make rings with PMC or Art Clay' (not true), 'fired PMC isn't strong enough to pierce [cut with a jewellers' saw], file or bend' (also not true), and 'PMC can't make fine or delicate jewellery' (definitely not the case: my 2010 collection was made with gemstones like peridot, tourmaline, sapphires and emeralds - and some of the silver pieces were just 0.8mm thick).
The trick is knowing how to work with this wonderful and challenging new material, and at the Sussex Jewellery School, we teach you all the top tips we know, to help you produce the very best work you can.
Blending old and new - learn precious metal clay alongside traditional silverwork
If you've had a look round this site, you'll have noticed that, at the Sussex Jewellery School, we teach metal clay skills alongside more traditional silverwork techniques like piercing, filing and soldering.
We're passionate about blending the best of both traditional and silver clay techniques, and believe that old and new can co-exist with no problems, so we'll happily guide you to choose the right material for your particular jewellery projects.
*The proper term for a maker of precious metal jewellery is a goldsmith, even if they work with silver. A silversmith is someone who makes precious metal items larger than a human fist (such as silver salvers etc).