Silvera Jewelry School

We are honored to be featured in Berkeleyside as part of the Discovered in Berkeley campaign, spotlighting local businesses that enrich the Berkeley community.
The piece is a beautiful celebration of handcrafted jewelry in our city. Whether you're looking to wear it or learn to make it. We share the spotlight with the wonderful Bills Trading Post, a longtime Berkeley gallery showcasing the work of Native American artisans. If you haven't visited them, they are worth the trip.
The full article is linked in our bio. Thank you to Discovered in Berkeley and Berkeleyside for including us, and to Richard H Grant for the gorgeous photography.

Experimental Enameling: Break the Rules, Embrace the Rust
Ready to stop playing it safe with enamel? Join Amanda Denison for three weeks of deliberately degrading surfaces, intentionally introducing rust, and making enamel do things it’s not “supposed” to do.
This is for enamelists who’ve mastered the fundamentals and are ready to get weird.
What you’ll explore:
* Working with different steels (pre-enameled whiteboard, mild steel, enameling iron)
* Wet process liquid enamels and experimental mark-making before firing
* Abrading fired surfaces to prep for rusting
* Natural vs accelerated rusting processes (pros and cons of each)
* Sealants, waxes, and turning samples into wearable pieces
* “Cheating” with enamel on copper for rust effects
The approach: Experimentation over perfection. You’ll get a challenge to complete between sessions, share your work in a private Facebook group, and discover what happens when you deliberately degrade, scratch, rust, and abuse your enameled surfaces.
If your enameling has gotten too predictable, this is your reset.

Online
Saturdays, July 18, 2026 - August 1, 2026; 9:00AM - 12:00PM PT

Register here
https://www.silverajewelry.com/classes/w/ID/875/eventID/9203/details.asp

Fancy Cut Stone Setting with Jenn Parnell Kirkpatrick
Got a collection of princess cuts, marquise, trillion, pear-shaped, or other pointed stones sitting in a drawer because you're not sure how to set them without chipping the corners? This is the class that fixes that.

Over six weeks, Jenn Kirkpatrick will walk you through fabricating settings and mastering techniques specifically for stones with points and corners. You'll learn how to cut seats and pockets that protect vulnerable edges, how to prepare and set V-prongs, how to fabricate and use bar settings, and how to adapt different prong styles to whatever fancy cut stone you're working with.

What you'll learn:
* Fabricating flat-back and step/seated bezels for fancy cuts
* Bezel setting preparation for corners and points
* Cutting seats and pockets that protect the stone
* Using engravers for stone setting
* V-prong preparation and setting
* Fabricating bar settings
* Setting techniques for bar settings
* Different prong styles for fancy cut stones
* Stone anatomy, cuts, and what to look for when buying

This is the skill set that opens up your entire stone collection. Once you know how to set fancy cuts safely, you're no longer limited to rounds and ovals. You can use dramatic shapes, set heirloom stones with points, and design around the cuts that actually catch light in interesting ways.

In-Person or Online�Tuesdays: June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, July 7�6–9PM PT

Register here
https://www.silverajewelry.com/classes/w/ID/583/eventID/9104/details.asp