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karmaguy

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i had an undergrad in a class I TA'd who seemed to only wear chrome hearts tees, evisu jeans and....either final fantasy or kingdom hearts cloaks/coats?
 

Komuga

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i had an undergrad in a class I TA'd who seemed to only wear chrome hearts tees, evisu jeans and....either final fantasy or kingdom hearts cloaks/coats?
Exactly chrome hearts looks so dumb lol
 

Hydeous

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I’ve been buying CH since 96. I like their design and how their jewelry have weight to them. Haven’t been buying any of the newer stuffs so I don’t know how they are now.

However none of their stuff goes with what I have in my wardrobe now since I mostly have visvim stuffs.
 

Komuga

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I’ve been buying CH since 96. I like their design and how their jewelry have weight to them. Haven’t been buying any of the newer stuffs so I don’t know how they are now.

However none of their stuff goes with what I have in my wardrobe now since I mostly have visvim stuffs.
Exactly. Chrome hearts fit more with the gothic style or street wear... doesn’t really go with Americana or Japanese style
 

LA Guy

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Seams should ALWAYS be soldered shut. I couldn't imagine putting my name on a product with an unfinished chain. Ew!
So, I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about metal working, because that would be a damn lie, but from what I understand, there isa huge difference between soldering on workbench, and having the heat to be able to forge the joins together. Like, on my Good Art chains, and Hermes, there is no line of solder. You could not tell where the join was, originally. Other makers just don't have the same equipment.
 

dwiz

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So, I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about metal working, because that would be a damn lie, but from what I understand, there isa huge difference between soldering on workbench, and having the heat to be able to forge the joins together. Like, on my Good Art chains, and Hermes, there is no line of solder. You could not tell where the join was, originally. Other makers just don't have the same equipment.

All jewelry is done using either brazing techniques or laser soldering. I mean I guess so people fuse in a kiln or forge, but that’s rare. When it comes to the no visible seam it comes down to clean joints and proper finishing. When the two side of the metal meet up, they should be clean of all debris and marks and touch perfectly, then you can solder them together. When you see a solder line it’s most commonly from people rushing this step. From there, when brazing, to insure a seamless joint it comes down to the proper amount of solder. Flood it and then clean it all up post. With laser soldering it’s so much easier, super clean joint and then a little zap zap. Laser soldering it’s nearly always seamless and for any major company, (Hermès for SURE), it’s standard. I have all my stuff lasered. It’s faster, cleaner and cheaper than brazing.

here’s some examples:
I made this when I was an apprentice. In the lower right hand corner you can see a little spot where the bezel meets the shank of the ring that’s slightly yellow. That’s solder. An imperfection from having a dirty joint and needing to use too much solder to cover ******.
A22029C8-F81C-41D2-AAC8-615E394A8070.jpeg
This was done using a laser. Clean and easy. Took 3 minutes as opposed to 15 too!

75CD947D-3365-457D-9A52-CCC3AC973013.jpeg 57E3EEFE-4E26-40C8-BEE6-E2E5E91F1A03.jpeg

And then of course there are the masters. Tiffany’s from 1920s. Hand brazed, enameled and set. BONKERS

701546CB-C07A-4D2E-AD1A-12BEFFBA1F27.jpeg

CH at this point is fashion, not jewelry IMO. A clean solder doesn’t ensure a well made product. It’s the starting point. They’re product is well made for what it is but doesn’t stand a chance to something made by a person. It ain’t got no soul left in it.
 
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LA Guy

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All jewelry is done using either brazing techniques or laser soldering. I mean I guess so people fuse in a kiln or forge, but that’s rare. When it comes to the no visible seam it comes down to clean joints and proper finishing. When the two side of the metal meet up, they should be clean of all debris and marks and touch perfectly, then you can solder them together. When you see a solder line it’s most commonly from people rushing this step. From there, when brazing, to insure a seamless joint it comes down to the proper amount of solder. Flood it and then clean it all up post. With laser soldering it’s so much easier, super clean joint and then a little zap zap. Laser soldering it’s nearly always seamless and for any major company, (Hermès for SURE), it’s standard. I have all my stuff lasered. It’s faster, cleaner and cheaper than brazing.

here’s some examples:
I made this when I was an apprentice. In the lower right hand corner you can see a little spot where the bezel meets the shank of the ring that’s slightly yellow. That’s solder. An imperfection from having a dirty joint and needing to use too much solder to cover ******.
View attachment 1566202
This was done using a laser. Clean and easy. Took 3 minutes as opposed to 15 too!

View attachment 1566230 View attachment 1566231

And then of course there are the masters. Tiffany’s from 1920s. Hand brazed, enameled and set. BONKERS

View attachment 1566232

CH at this point is fashion, not jewelry IMO. A clean solder doesn’t ensure a well made product. It’s the starting point. They’re product is well made for what it is but doesn’t stand a chance to something made by a person. It ain’t got no soul left in it.
As I understand, or at least from videos of people making a Good Art chain, they use a kiln.
 

dwiz

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As I understand, or at least from videos of people making a Good Art chain, they use a kiln.

woah COOL!

soldering with a kiln is a ***** because the whole piece heats at the same rate so you run the risk of melting the piece if your geometry is off. Spots to be soldered must be thinner so they heat a few seconds faster than the thicker spots.
timing is everything with a kiln.

Or you can fuse with a kiln. fusing is a whole nother beast though. I trained in fusing for enameling. Talk about clean joints, they have to be spotless. My teacher would always hold my pieces up to a light. If he could see any light coming through the joint it wasn’t ready for fusing. When the metal hits flash point they join immediately, so no any gap or holes mean a poor connection. The moment between flash and melt is minuscule. The benefit though is that fusing makes for the strongest connection. A lot of the best jewelry from the 20th century and prior was fused because of enamel, also why they’re jewelry is still in perfect shape.

edit: for a chain this makes perfect sense because your doing multiples of the exact same type of object. Each link will solder at the exact same moment and saves you a bunch of time.
 
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LA Guy

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woah COOL!

soldering with a kiln is a ***** because the whole piece heats at the same rate so you run the risk of melting the piece if your geometry is off. Spots to be soldered must be thinner so they heat a few seconds faster than the thicker spots.
timing is everything with a kiln.

Or you can fuse with a kiln. fusing is a whole nother beast though. I trained in fusing for enameling. Talk about clean joints, they have to be spotless. My teacher would always hold my pieces up to a light. If he could see any light coming through the joint it wasn’t ready for fusing. When the metal hits flash point they join immediately, so no any gap or holes mean a poor connection. The moment between flash and melt is minuscule. The benefit though is that fusing makes for the strongest connection. A lot of the best jewelry from the 20th century and prior was fused because of enamel, also why they’re jewelry is still in perfect shape.

edit: for a chain this makes perfect sense because your doing multiples of the exact same type of object. Each link will solder at the exact same moment and saves you a bunch of time.
Cool knowledge. Yeah, so, I'll that I know is that Ive seen them with the fished chain, putting it under (over?) heat, the the entire thing is red hot, and then they do do close the links then. Not sure where I saw this (maybe on Instagram, but I would not swear to it) I think that then they quenched it in water, but again, I will definitely not swear to that last part. Then they trimmed the rough parts off of the links. I was invited to visit the foundry the Nine Lives guys, who share a facility with them, as well as having done quite a few collborations, and whom we had over at our little place in Florence, a couple of years back during Pitti Uomo. I never did take them up on that offer, but feel like I should have now.
 

dwiz

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Cool knowledge. Yeah, so, I'll that I know is that Ive seen them with the fished chain, putting it under (over?) heat, the the entire thing is red hot, and then they do do close the links then. Not sure where I saw this (maybe on Instagram, but I would not swear to it) I think that then they quenched it in water, but again, I will definitely not swear to that last part. Then they trimmed the rough parts off of the links. I was invited to visit the foundry the Nine Lives guys, who share a facility with them, as well as having done quite a few collborations, and whom we had over at our little place in Florence, a couple of years back during Pitti Uomo. I never did take them up on that offer, but feel like I should have now.

That screencap is them heating the metal for casting, using a brazing torch to liquify the metal prior to pouring, either into an ingot for hand fabrication or into a mold for a casted piece.

You should definitely go if you think you still could. That sounds like a dream to me! The jewelers in Florence are so damn good. Italy still has a thriving tradition of killer hand fabrication, some guys over there doing some totally mad stuff too. This guy for instance is one of the leading jewelers in the world right now, a bit of a mad scientist.

 

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