Goldsmith

A goldsmith is a met alworker who specializes in working wit h gold and ot her precious met als.
als.
Nowadays t hey mainly specialize in jewelry-making but hist orically, goldsmit hs have also made
silverware,, plat t ers,
silverware ers, goblet s,
s, decorat ive and serviceable ut ensils, and ceremonial or religious
it ems.

The Baqdadi goldsmith by Kamal-ol-molk

Goldsmit hs must be skilled in forming met al t hrough filing, soldering, sawing, forging, cast ing, and
polishing. The t rade has very oft en included jewelry-making skills, as well as t he very similar skills
of t he silversmit h. Tradit ionally, t hese skills had been passed along t hrough apprent iceships;
however, more recent ly jewelry art s schools, specializing in t eaching goldsmit hing and a
mult it ude of skills falling under t he jewelry art s umbrella, are available. Many universit ies and
junior colleges also offer goldsmit hing, silversmit hing, and met al art s fabricat ion as a part of t heir
fine art s curriculum.

Gold

Gold used as raw material for making jewelry or as means of payment. From the Migration Period, Sweden around 400–549
AD.

Compared t o ot her met als, gold is malleable, duct ile, rare, and it is t he only solid met allic
element wit h a yellow color. It may easily be melt ed, fused, and cast wit hout t he problems of
oxides and gas t hat are problemat ic wit h ot her met als such as bronzes, for example. It is fairly
easy t o "pressure weld", wherein, similarly t o clay, t wo small pieces may be pounded t oget her t o
make one larger piece. Gold is classified as a noble met al—because it does not react wit h most
element s. It usually is found in it s nat ive form, last ing indefinit ely wit hout oxidizat ion and
t arnishing.

History
A goldsmith workshop during the mid-seventeenth century

Gold has been worked by humans in all cult ures where t he met al is available, eit her indigenously
or import ed, and t he hist ory of t hese act ivit ies is ext ensive. Superbly made object s from t he
ancient cult ures of Africa, Asia, Europe, India, Nort h America, Mesoamerica, and Sout h America
grace museums and collect ions t hroughout t he world. The Copper Age Varna cult ure (Bulgaria)
from t he 5t h millennium BC is credit ed wit h invent ing goldsmit h (gold met allurgy).[1][2] The
associat ed Varna Necropolis t reasure cont ains t he oldest golden jewellery in t he world wit h an
approximat e age of over 6,000 years.[3][4]

Some pieces dat e back t housands of years and were made using many t echniques t hat st ill are
used by modern goldsmit hs. Techniques developed by some of t hose goldsmit hs achieved a skill
level t hat was lost and remained beyond t he skills of t hose who followed, even t o modern
t imes.[5] Researchers at t empt ing t o uncover t he chemical t echniques used by ancient art isans
have remarked t hat t heir findings confirm t hat "t he high level of compet ence reached by t he
art ist s and craft smen of t hese ancient periods who produced object s of an art ist ic qualit y t hat
could not be bet t ered in ancient t imes and has not yet been reached in modern ones."[6]

In medieval Europe goldsmit hs were organized int o guilds and usually were one of t he most
import ant and wealt hiest of t he guilds in a cit y. The guild kept records of members and t he
marks t hey used on t heir product s. These records, when t hey survive, are very useful t o
hist orians. Goldsmit hs oft en act ed as bankers, since t hey dealt in gold and had sufficient securit y
for t he safe st orage of valuable it ems, t hough t hey were usually rest rained from lending at
int erest , which was regarded as usury. In t he Middle Ages, goldsmit hing normally included
silversmit hing as well, but t he brass workers and workers in ot her base met als normally were
members of a separat e guild, since t he t rades were not allowed t o overlap. Many jewelers also
were goldsmit hs.

A Brahmin goldsmith from Goa, 16th century India

Gold and silver smith in Lucknow, India 1890

The Sunar cast e is one of t he oldest communit ies in goldsmit hing in India, whose superb gold
art works were displayed at The Great Exhibit ion of 1851 in London. In India, 'Daivadnya
Brahmins',Vishwakarma (Viswabrahmins,Acharis)'Sunar' are t he goldsmit h cast es.

The print making t echnique of engraving developed among goldsmit hs in Germany around 1430,
who had long used t he t echnique on t heir met al pieces. The not able engravers of t he fift eent h
cent ury were eit her goldsmit hs, such as Mast er E. S., or t he sons of goldsmit hs, such as Mart in
Schongauer and Albrecht Dürer.
Contemporary goldsmithing

Modern goldsmith at work

A goldsmit h might have a wide array of skills and knowledge at t heir disposal. Gold, being t he
most malleable met al of all, offers unique opport unit ies for t he worker. In t oday's world a wide
variet y of ot her met als, especially plat inum alloys, also may be used frequent ly. 24 karat is pure
gold and hist orically, was known as fine gold.[7]

Because it is so soft , however, 24 karat gold is rarely used. It is usually alloyed t o make it
st ronger and t o creat e different colors. Depending on t he met als used t o creat e t he alloy, t he
color can change.

The goldsmit h will use a variet y of t ools and machinery, including t he rolling mill, t he drawplat e,
and perhaps, swage blocks and ot her forming t ools t o make t he met al int o shapes needed t o
build t he int ended piece. Then part s are fabricat ed t hrough a wide variet y of processes and
assembled by soldering. It is a t est ament t o t he hist ory and evolut ion of t he t rade t hat t hose
skills have reached an ext remely high level of at t ainment and skill over t ime. A fine goldsmit h can
and will work t o a t olerance approaching t hat of precision machinery, but largely using only his
eyes and hand t ools. Quit e oft en t he goldsmit h's job involves t he making of mount ings for
gemst ones, in which case t hey oft en are referred t o as jewelers.

'Jeweller', however, is a t erm most ly reserved for a person who deals in jewellery (buys and sells)
and not t o be confused wit h a goldsmit h, silversmit h, gemologist , diamond cut t er, and diamond
set t ers. A 'jobbing jeweller' is t he t erm for a jeweller who undert akes a small basic amount of
jewellery repair and alt erat ion.

Notable goldsmiths

Gallery

See also

References

External links

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Goldsmith&oldid=1116494005"

Last edited 18 days ago by 81.110.109.38