I am the founder of Stones and Findings, a jewelry components wholesale company, specializing in charm designs and chains. I am formally trained in fine arts and finance, earning an MBA from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business.
I started making and selling jewelry as a way to pay for my university tuition. Over the years, my wholesale business grew from finished jewelry to specializing in components. I continue to produce a small collection of sterling silver jewelry, using lost waxing casting, which I sell to a handful of galleries – because I am a maker at heart.
My experience culminated into producing a collection of casting designs, Amoracast, which we wholesale to other designers and bead stores. Most of our customers are jewelry artisans, who make jewelry using cold connection techniques, such as wire wrapping. An exciting small percentage of customers are silversmiths.
The advantages of beading and wire wrapping are the flipside disadvantages of casting and silversmithing, and vice versa. Wire wrapping has the benefits of being portable, low cost barrier to entry, requires very little training, is conducive to certain delicate aesthetic like chains, and is rather clean to work with. It can be done on any surface, with minimal equipment (you just need a pair of pliers and cutters); it can be mastered in under an hour, and does not require solder, flame, pickling or special ventilation.
That said, soldering, on the other hand, brings to the table an extensive range of design possibilities unavailable to wire wrapping – most notably, bonding pieces permanently and minimally, without coiled and cumbersome wire.
The solution that bridges soldering and wire wrapping came into my life in 2017 – when I bought my first micro welder, Orion mPulse 30. THIS was the missing link (pun!) – the technology bringing together all the benefits of wire wrapping and soldering.
Reality check: My Orion micro welder did not perfectly replace soldering; I could not weld as securely as I could solder for thick pieces such as ring bands and castings for earrings. But what was worth the investment was how greatly speeded up my fabrication process – I was faster and more productive. I could now tack weld earring posts onto castings before soldering. I once calculated that I was cutting my fabrication time by as much as 30%, for batches of 20 or more earrings. I also completely replaced soldering with welding for all fine chains – welding was speeded up plus much fewer damaged chains from accidental melting.
Micro welding, for many people, equals permanent jewelry these days. I wholesale to many permanent jewelry artists, as well as to existing jewelry store customers who have decided to start offering permanent jewelry; the huge growth of permanent jewelry sales has made their year.
Even my significant group of customers, staunchly resistant to the idea of permanent jewelry, are curious about what the welder can do for their fabrication work. The welder definitely can help their sales, too.
Because of all this interest by my customers, I create Youtube videos on jewelry making using arc pulse micro welders. Here are some jewelry pieces I have found to be best made by micro welding – better than soldering or wire wrapping:
Threader Earrings – stud post welded onto a fine chain that you pull through the piercing. It is impossible to do this with wire wrapping. Fine chains are hard to control with the flame and it is difficult to solder a cable chain onto the post without the top links being melted into a blob (trust me, I’ve tried many times). However, it takes mere seconds to weld this. I first ball the chain end slightly by zapping the top link back onto itself. Then I simply weld the tiny ball to the stud post and use chain nose pliers to smoothen the joint, if needed.
Briolette Bead Drops – for earrings or pendants. It is faster to wire wrap drop beads than to solder wire or create prong settings. However, not everyone likes the crafty look of wire wrapping. By trimming the wire ends, leaving 2mm excess, gather the wires together and weld with one zap. It takes less than 3 seconds to do. In general, 22ga wires use 9W power; 24ga 7W-8W; 26ga 6W-7W; 28ga 5W.
Bar Chains and Bead Connectors – in between chains. Wire wrapping is faster and safer than solder because chains can melt and stone beads can crack when exposed to high heat. Again, not everyone likes the craft look of wire wrapping. There is a slight trick to welding very fine wires, which I share in the videos, but it is easy to master. The result is amazing – fast, consistent and clean.
Customized Necklaces and Bracelets – and this is a big one! It is not just permanent jewelry that requires securely closed jump rings. Closing jump rings near fine chains or moving mechanisms, such as spring clasps or lever backs is the bane of all jewelry makers. Flame can melt the chain or damage the spring mechanism, but wire wrapping is often unsightly. This is where micro welding is the superstar.
I foresee every jewelry-carrying boutique to have a micro welder on premises in the near future. The trend is multi-layering and super customization. Consumers are currently able to order online fine chains, measured to 1/4″ increments, from 12″ to 30″ long. Boutiques usually carry 16″, 18″ and 20″, and perhaps with extension chains. Unusual lengths would require several days’ turnaround time because it would be sent out to a goldsmith.
However, this is about to change – boutiques can now offer customized lengths, made to measure to accompany any outfit or jewelry collection, in under 10 minutes.
Consumers will appreciate that level of service, the human interaction, and instant gratification in boutiques that online shopping cannot provide. Having a micro welder on premises will help bring foot traffic back to the brick and mortar fashion retail boutique.
Original Source: Henning, Dana. “A Look at the Benefits of Micro Welders.” Southern Jewelry News, Mar. 2024, pp. 12,22.