Precious metal clay adds shine to silversmithing

From clay to silver

Highly elastic silver clay can be made into different accessories with only a small knife and some creativity. (Nickie Wong)

By Nickie Wong

Lying in a red hot kiln, pieces of chalky-white craftwork cool off after an in-tense session of firing.

Soon, after brushing off the top layer of the craftwork, these art pieces will be transformed into silver.

Magic? No. This is a unique form of silversmithing.

A product called precious metal clay has brought even more shine to the metal industry.

Originating in Japan in the early 1990s, silver clay is a kind of precious metal clay made of silver powder, water and clay. Another example of precious metal clay is gold clay.

Thanks to the Japanese, who found that silver from industrial waste can be recycled and made into silver accessories, it was also discovered that clay can serve as a medium to shape and craft raw silver.

Silver from silver clay has a purity of 99.9 percent. This is higher than most the silver from silver factories, which are at most 92.8 percent pure.

Crafting with silver clay is similar to shaping with ordinary clay: add water to soften it, mould it, leave it to dry and then fire it in a kiln.

When fired in a kiln, the moisture in the clay evaporates and the silver particles fuse together.
After firing, all one has to do to finish the shiny silver art piece is to scrape off the top layer of clay powder.

Silver clay was introduced to Hong Kong in 1998.

Aley Chow, owner of Crafthouse, provides courses in crafting with silver clay.

The average price of silver clay is $220 per 20 grams, which is enough for making two to three rings.

A basic session at Crafthouse will cost a person $250. It includes the material for a small ring. Advanced and certificate courses are also available.

According to Ms. Chow, silver clay suits all people because it is easy to work with.

“Unlike traditional silver crafting, making silver clay products does not require huge kilns for firing and machines for shaping, cooling and polishing.

“All that one needs are raw silver clay, a small rubber cube for cushioning, a file and a furnace.”

Firing silver clay indoors is safe because it does not release harmful chemicals.

Silver clay allows people to make their own earrings, pendants, necklaces, forks, spoons. . . . The items one can make are limited only by one’s creativity.

Among all accessories, Ms. Chow regards pendants as the best to start with.

“Pendants are small, but they are worn around the neck, so they attract more attention than other accessories.”

Silver clay can be made into black silver by adding black silver liquid before baking.

“Guys prefer black silver because it is more masculine,” said Ms. Chow.

However, her male students usually make silver accessories for their girlfriends.

“Guys usually lack the patience to make their own accessories,” said Ms. Chow. “They would rather buy them.”

According to Ms. Chow, hobbyists can minimize effort by using moulds with patterns like roses.

“But some people who seek challenges and creativity would rather craft everything themselves,” she said.

Silver clay crafting also provides hobbyists with a sense of gratification.

Most of Ms. Chow’s students are office ladies.

“Perhaps working on silver clay relieves them from the stress and boredom of work,” she suggested.

Office worker Agnes Ho is one of Crafthouse’s students. She has tried other handicrafts before and now devotes her spare time to silver clay crafting.

“I liked home economics when I was in secondary school,” said Ms. Ho. “Now I have a great interest in silver clay.

“I love its high plasticity.

“I wear most of my work. Last Christmas, I made some for my friends.”

Ms. Ho is currently taking a certificate course on silver clay making.

When she completes the course, she will obtain an internationally recognized Artclay World certificate from Japan, and will be able to teach this art.

She said, “I am taking this course because I like accessories and believe I can start my own business.

“I see the market potential for silver clay because there is a lack of supply of unique accessories in the market.”

Ms. Chow, also foreseeing this potential, has been selling her work at flea markets.

The price of each piece varies from $120 to $400.

“The business is satisfying because silver clay products are new to Hong Kong people,” she said, “but this can only be a small business because of the high production costs.

“In Japan, there are online transactions, but they need further development in Hong Kong.”
The high purity of silver attracts people who are allergic to impure silver.

“The so-called ‘pure silver’ accessories in most shops are not really that pure.

“Some people may get rashes when they wear accessories made of silver mixed with copper or iron,” said Ms. Chow.

She suggested that one can test the purity of silver by putting it under fire or into a furnace.

“Pure silver maintains its luster and shape despite repeated heatings,” she said, “but impure silver blackens when heated.”

However, it is not cost-effective to hand-make silver accessories from silver clay because of the time required, according to Ms. Chow.

It takes her students 2 to 3 hours to make a normal-sized ring with simple crafting.

Said Ms. Ho, the student, “Some big pieces, such as bracelets, and work with complicated crafting may take me 4 to 5 hours.”

On the other hand, silver factories take an average of half an hour to produce a piece of work.

Unlike traditional silver, which is crafted after firing, silver clay is crafted beforehand.

In addition, the tools needed are simpler for silver clay.

“Only a small knife is used, but for traditional silver, such crafting requires machines.”


Aley Chow, silver clay crafing tutor, says that silver clay
suits all people because it is easy to work with. (By Nickie Wong)

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