PB Cohen Creations

This book was first published in Spanish in 1999, and in English in 2000; the paperback version was published in 2006.

For this book, Carles Codina i Aremgol collaborated with a number of different artists, filling its pages with instructions and detailed photographs on how to do a wide variety of things. Although there are instructions on how to create a few pieces from start to finish (and not just in the last, "Step by step" section), quite a bit of the instruction is for aspects of jewelry-making: making tubes and cylinders, how to set up a proper join for soldering, making a dome, making a pin back, etching metal with acid, granulation, using a rolling mill, making chasing tools, and combining metals, to name just a few. But the fun of this book are the beautiful examples that are included.

Photographs of both finished pieces and works-in-progress are scattered throughout, showcasing the various techniques, in such a wide variety of styles that you can't help being inspired to try new things. The book has a different sensibility than most you see written in English — I assume because the artists depicted are from Europe, not the US. There's bound to be a difference, right? Or it could be that many of the pieces are made of gold!

The book starts with a section on the history of human ornamentation, and a thorough look at metallurgy, before starting in with "Basic Techniques." But don't let the word "basic" get you thinking that this is a book for beginners: the first project has you forming a gold tube around a square copper rod to make ring, and then dissolving the copper interior in a bath of nitric acid. The project gets more complicated from there. Don't worry, though, the basics really are covered — in amongst the amazing stuff. The next section, "Surfaces," includes acid etching, combining metals (there are some interesting examples here), granulation, textures, and patinas. And more amazing stuff.

Just when you think the book can't get any more interesting, it has a "Related Techniques" section. Five techniques covered in from two to ten pages, in order: chasing and repoussé, Urushi (Japanese lacquer), enameling, stone setting, and wax model carving with lost wax casting. While the casting section shows a lot of specific techniques, in my mind the section on Urushi is the best: it describes the process and shows a bracelet being made, and it also provides recipes and photographs for 13 different applications, each of which explores both color and texture. The enameling (a nice description of champlevé) and stone setting (a nice description of pavé setting) sections are also worth a look.

Finally, there are seven pieces of jewelry described from start to finish: a repoussé pendant, a brooch set with several stones, a cast, articulated bracelet with a clasp, a pendant set with stones on a chain, a multiple loop-in-loop chain, a hollow-construction ring, and a crocheted chain.

This book is definitely worth a look: for inspiration, ideas, and practical tips.