Andrew Nyce Designs is now offering a wide variety of elegant, unique wedding bands and engagement rings utilizing Palladium 500 alloys to replace 14K PW in select Mokume Gane compositions. By utilizing an innovative process, Andrew Nyce Designs’ team of expert Goldsmiths are able to create a vast selection of Mokume Gane patterns with old-world craftsmanship at new, attractive pricing. Andrew Nyce Designs continues to offer select compositions for those wanting higher gold content Mokume Gane compositions.

Andrew Nyce began experimenting with the new Palladium 500 alloy in Fall 2010. The unique use of this alloy, which has recently been introduced in European retail jewelry markets, including Mokume Gane, has yet to be adopted by jewelry designers in the United States. Throughout 2011, the price of gold experienced dramatic fluctuations as it steadily increased. We decided it was time to decrease our dependence on the volatility and price escalation of gold. It was time to introduce a new family of Mokume Gane compositions based upon Palladium 500.

Our new compositions were created by replacing the 14K Palladium White Gold (14K PW) in our Mokume Gane with Palladium 500. For our purposes, the Palladium 500 alloy shares many qualities of 14K Palladium White Gold (14K PW) – it is wear-resistant and retains its vibrant color. Palladium 500 looks exactly like 14K Palladium White Gold (14K PW). As such, the Mokume Gane rings we made using Palladium 500 retain the exact look of Mokume compositions containing 14K PW.

We continue to offer Mokume Gane with higher content Gold (including 14K PW) and Platinum for those who like the look and feel of these precious metals and for whom price considerations are not as much a concern.

Precious Metals Mokume Gane with Palladium 500 is available across all our Collections!

[from left to right: Kibou, Torii and Kinkou earrings]

Jewelry designer and Goldsmith Deborah Spencer collaborated with Andrew Nyce Designs to create a stunning Asian-inspired collection of handcrafted Mokume Gane earrings and pendants.

The Balance Collection reflects on the Japanese origin of Mokume Gane. Kinkou is the Japanese word for balance and means having or wanting balance in one’s life. The unique http://andrewnycedesigns.com/mokume-gane of Balance Collection jewelry are meant to foster a sense of well-being and balance.

Andrew Nyce Designs is launching the Balance Collection with eight pairs of earrings and three pendants. These elegant earring and pendant designs can be worn separately, in tandem, and as a complement to our line of Mokume Gane wedding and engagement rings.

Balance Collection jewelry can be ordered directly through our website. Delivery time for handcrafted Balance Collection jewelry is 3 to 4 weeks from the time your order is placed and credit card information is verified.

Andrew Nyce Designs is proud to announce a new collection of fine jewelry that will be available in late August 2010. The Balance Collection is an Asian-inspired line of Mokume Gane earrings and pendants. This stunning new collection reflects on the Japanese origin of Mokume Gane and was created through a collaboration between jewelry designer Deborah Spencer and Andrew Nyce Designs. The earring and pendant designs will be interchangeable with each other and will complement our line of Mokume Gane wedding and engagement rings. Initially, the Balance Collection will be offered with Glacial Mist Mokume Gane.

Kinkou is the Japanese word for balance and means having or wanting balance in one’s life. The unique designs of the Balance Collection jewelry are meant to foster a sense of well-being and balance. Please inquire if you are interested in learning more about the Balance Collection.

Andrew Nyce Designs is dedicated to expanding and improving the Mokume Gane compositions we offer our customers. During the past few weeks, Andrew has been making a number of Mokume billets for the New Year. We thought you might be interested in seeing what these billets look like. And you might be interested in the new alloy combinations.

Billets 1 through 3 represent Mokume Gane compositions where we have introduced different precious metals to our existing color palettes. These new compositions may be added to our existing Mokume Gane color palettes in 2010. We continue to explore lower cost Mokume compositions that do not sacrifice elegance for affordability. Our goal is to provide Mokume Gane to suit your budget.

• Billet 1 – In this billet, we have taken the Desert Sunset palette (14K Palladium White Gold and 18K Royal Yellow Gold) and substituted the 18K Royal Yellow Gold with 14K Green Gold.
• Billet 2 – In this billet, we have taken the Glacial Mist palette (14K Palladium White Gold and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver) and substituted the 14K Palladium White Gold with 950 Palladium.
• Billet 3 – In this billet, we have taken the Ashes and Snow palette (950 Platinum, 14K Palladium White Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver) and substituted the 950 Platinum with 14K Green Gold.

Aside from being a lower cost alternative to Platinum and 18K Yellow Gold, the aesthetics of 14K Green Gold are very pleasing. We like it and hope you will too. And using 950 Palladium in place of 14K Palladium White Gold is a great way to provide a Mokume Gane with the classic, sophisticated look of Glacial Mist at a lower cost and with a more subtle contrast.

Billets 4 through 7 represent some of our standard Mokume Gane compositions. These billets are being made into rings for customers or for use in new ring designs that we will introduce in the first quarter of 2010.

• Billet 4 – Glacial Mist comprises layers of 14K Palladium White Gold and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.
• Billet 5 – Maui Sunset comprises layers of 14K Palladium White Gold, 18K Royal Yellow Gold, 14K Red Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.
• Billet 6 – Santa Fe comprises layers of 14K Palladium White Gold, 14K Red Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.
• Billet 7 – Painted Desert comprises layers of 18K Royal Yellow Gold, 14K Red Gold, and Palladium-enhanced Sterling Silver.

So far in 2009, Andrew Nyce Designs has added three new Damascus patterns to the five other patterns that we offer. Art Deco was introduced earlier this year. The Woodcut and Cosmic patterns were introduced in late Summer.

The Art Deco pattern has bold rounded and linear elements that intersect each with other forming modern motifs. Shown below are two rings with the Art Deco pattern: a JET Men’s ring with a black oxide coating (top) and an Embraced Wedding ring with an 18K gold channel.

Woodcut pays homage to the thick, flowing lines of a woodcut print. The pattern also reflects more Earthly forms such as the furrows in a freshly plowed field. Shown below are two Men’s rings with the JET ring sitting atop a BOLD ring. Both rings have the Woodcut pattern and a black oxide coating.

The wider Cosmic pattern mirrors the vast emptiness of space punctuated by striking and beautiful interstellar bodies. Shown below is a JET Men’s ring with the Quasar pattern and a black oxide coating.

All of these patterns are available for any ring within any of the Andrew Nyce Designs Damascus Collections.

Jewelry Studio Notes (a technical discussion of Andrew’s work on new Damascus patterns)

Woodcut and Art Deco are both produced from the same starting material. We use a stacking arrangement consisting of alternating layers of 316L and 304L stainless steel. This assembly is bonded using a proprietary process. Then, the material is forged into a round bar of a predetermined diameter, twisted, forged into a square and then machined into a round bar. The Art Deco pattern is found on the surface of the round bar. If, after the twisting step, the round bar is forged flat instead of into a square, the result is the Woodcut pattern.

The Cosmic pattern is similar in appearance to both the Wood Grain and Celestial patterns. The starting materials for Cosmic are parallel layers of Damascus that have been twisted to a 70-degree starting angle, forged into a square shape, and then machined into a round bar. Both the Cosmic pattern and subtle variations of the Cosmic pattern are found on the surface of the round bar. From a production standpoint, the Cosmic pattern is an undistorted Wood Grain pattern.

[Blue Flame Rings set in an 18K gold channel (left) and platinum-enhanced sterling silver channel (right) ]

About 7 years ago, I began making jewelry using a unique process that incorporated an oxyacetylene torch to sculpt the surface of semi-solid silver alloys into ripples and waves. I enjoyed the challenge of this work and created some strikingly beautiful jewelry. However, I became so intensely interested in Mokume Gane and Damascus that I set this third jewelry-making technique aside. Until now. I have returned to the idea of creating jewelry with this process under the name Blue Flame.

Blue Flame Jewelry is created by sculpting silver alloys into ripples and waves using an intense oxyacetylene (blue) flame. The initial step involves subjecting a specially formulated sheet of silver alloy to a pre-oxidation and acid-etching treatment. This treatment creates a thin layer of pure silver on the surface of the silver alloy sheet.

Using an oxyacetylene flame, I preheat the sheet to just below the point where the interior of the silver alloy sheet begins to melt. The surface layer of pure silver, which has a higher melting point, remains solid. The challenge is to prevent the liquid metal alloy from “burning” through the solid pure silver layer. As I move the oxyacetylene flame across the sheet, liquid/solid regions are created which, in turn, create the ripples and waves as the alloy beneath the pure solid silver alternately melts and solidifies. The size of the flame and the pre-oxidation conditions determine the size of the surface features. Waves, ripples, swirls and even writing are possible in various scales with this technique.

Although this technique, also known as reticulation, can be used on gold or silver alloys, I have chosen to focus my efforts in the jewelry studio on silver alloys embraced in a channel of precious metal alloys. My initial emphasis will be on making rings, the first of which will be offered through one of our retailers, Taboo Studio in San Diego, California. The plan is to expand into more of our retail outlets into next year. In late 2010, I intend to offer other Blue Flame jewelry, such as pendants and earrings.

If you have any questions or would like more information about Blue Flame rings, please contact us.

[Flame-sculpted necklace handcrafted by Andrew Nyce Designs in 2003]

Andrew Nyce Designs has added a new Stainless Steel Mokume composition to our Mokume Gane Men’s ring lineup. Golden Light Mokume is composed of stainless steel and 18K yellow gold. Golden Light Mokume features a stainless steel channel, which is the standard for all Mokume Gane rings in the Men’s Collection.

Andrew’s research in the jewelry studio enabled him to engineer this innovative marriage of precious metal alloy and stainless steel. Like Shadows and Light Mokume, our stainless steel and platinum-enhanced sterling silver composition, Golden Light Mokume is made with a random pattern. Both the Golden Light and Shadows and Light Men’s rings are relief polished with an aggressive abrasive that erodes away the precious metal alloys at a faster rate than either the 316L or 304L Stainless Steel. The result is a contoured relief on the surface of the ring that accentuates the pattern.

The Golden Light Mokume Gane Men’s ring would be a fine accessory for stainless steel and gold watches. Andrew is currently working on a red gold stainless steel Mokume composition that we intend to add to the Men’s Collection by year’s end.

An exclusive new Stainless Steel Mokume Gane composition, named Shadows and Light, has been developed by Andrew in his studio. The new composition, comprising 40 layers of 316 stainless steel and platinum-enhanced sterling silver, is made using our Contour (random) patterning technique. Rings made with this innovative Mokume composition have been selected to launch Andrew Nyce Designs’ newest line: the Mokume Gane Men’s Collection.

Typically, Mokume Gane utilizes alternating layers of precious metals including gold, platinum, palladium and silver alloys. Traditional Japanese Mokume Gane was made by combining various copper alloys. Other metals and alloys have been incorporated into modern Mokume compositions. However, Andrew is the first metalsmith to successfully marry 316 stainless steel with precious metals through the use of solid-state diffusion bonding, hot forging, and cold rolling.

Andrew Nyce Designs plans to expand its line of Stainless Steel Mokume Gane with an 18K yellow gold and 316 stainless steel Mokume composition. The new composition will be introduced in Fall 2009 as part of the Mokume Men’s Collection. It also will feature a stainless steel channel which is the standard for all Mokume Gane rings in the Men’s Collection.

Our new Mokume Men’s rings marry the ancient Japanese metalworking art of Mokume Gane with the craftsmanship of Damascus Steel. The origin of both these techniques is rooted firmly in swordmaking. Mokume Gane Men’s rings offer the strength and fortitude that mirror their history.

Jewelry Studio Notes (a technical discussion of Andrew’s work on Stainless Steel Mokume)

Leading up to his new development, Andrew reviewed the current research that touched upon a stainless steel and precious metal Mokume. In 2004, Jim Binnion demonstrated that 22K gold and pure iron as well as platinum and pure iron could be bonded and subsequently processed into twist patterned Mokume Gane rings. However, in his 2002 book “Mokume Gane”, Ian Ferguson stated that the fine silver and stainless steel Mokume Gane is not at all malleable: microscopic examination showed massive disintegration of the stainless steel layers. According to Ferguson, “in this respect, it cannot be considered a true Mokume Gane at all, as the pattern cannot be controlled. It must be deformed red hot using a power hammer and must be hot rolled, it requires; it requires frequent annealing, there is massive extrusion of the fine silver at the edges and often tearing through the sheet. It presents an interesting natural disintegrated pattern and can be patinated in a range of colors. Due to forming difficulties, it is recommended to use the material in the flat form.”

According to Andrew, “this prior work painted a very discouraging backdrop against which I attempted to bond 316 stainless steel to precious metal alloys. Binnion’s work using pure iron is impressive, but his results do not suggest that bonding 316 stainless steel would be possible. Pure iron is very soft and unlike 316 stainless does not form any oxides that would impede bonding. Stainless steel, on the other hand, forms a tough chromium oxide layer that makes solid state diffusion bonding problematic.”

Nevertheless, Andrew was able to use the metallurgical principles to successfully bond 316 stainless steel to platinum-enhanced sterling silver as well as to 18K yellow gold. “The melting points of the sterling silver and the 18K yellow gold were critical to the success of bonding with the 316 stainless steel. The annealing temperature of the 316 stainless steel/18K yellow gold and the 316 stainless steel/Sterling in between cold pressing and cold rolling must be high enough to anneal the 316 stainless steel, but not to melt the sterling silver or the 18K yellow gold. Metallurgical phase diagrams were used to determine feasibility of diffusion bonding and to determine whether any low melting phase would form during processing. Cold and hot forging along with cold rolling were successfully employed in producing both contour patterned Mokume Gane compositions.”

“I am currently testing these materials for use in making twist-patterned Mokume Gane. The use of carbon-containing protective atmospheres was shown to be a problem that was solved by “canning” the Mokume during annealing and hot forging. The bonded 316 Stainless steel and 18K yellow gold and 316 stainless steel and platinum-enhanced sterling silver could be cold rolled by as much as 15% between anneals without bond failure.”

These new Stainless Steel Mokume Gane compositions have the following advantages:

• They are inherently more wear-resistant because of the 316 stainless steel
• The 316 stainless steel imparts a color similar to platinum, but a luster that is richer
• A black oxide coating can be applied to the 316 stainless steel for added contrast
• They are potentially less expensive than a 14K palladium white gold and sterling silver Mokume composition
• The ability to etch either the 316 stainless or the sterling silver (Shadows and Light Mokume)

The potential cost savings, compared to typical precious metal Mokume Gane compositions, will depend upon our ability to find a company who can refine Mokume Gane compositions containing stainless steel. One refiner has turned us down, but another refiner has indicated that they will evaluate the feasibility of refining our scrap. If we cannot find refiners who are able to do this, Andrew Nyce Designs is committed to developing the technology ourselves.