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About the Gowan
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Body Jewelry Wedding & Committment Jewelry Reliquary & Memorial Jewelry Custom Pieces & Special Projects Ethical Sourcing About the Gowan > F. A. Q. < |
 Q. What methods does Gowan use to create her jewelry?A. Gowan works predominantly with the traditional Etruscan Goldsmithing methods, she learned in her apprenticeship, as well as utilizing Traditional Silversmithing and modern Blacksmithing and Coppersmithing methods. She uses traditional hand-tools: torches, hand saws, hand drills, hammers, anvils and files. Many of her tools are antiques, and many others she has made herself (these days, her blacksmithing work is confined mostly to tool fabrication). Modern motorized implements are used only occasionally, and then predominantly for finishing and polishing work. Gowan uses traditional European Hard Solder which creates a strong and virtually invisible join. She DOES NOT use Paste Solder (the modern production jewelry standard) which contains Cadmium, a toxic poison. Paste Solder requires less skill to use, but also creates brittle discolored joins, in addition to being toxic. The image to the left is of Gowan drilling a bezel with a vintage hand drill. We only ethically sourced solid precious metals, and ethically sourced natural untreated gemstones. All pieces are durable -- designed and built to last for many lifetimes of regular use. All pieces are warranted for defects in construction and will be repaired or replaced if problems related to construction occur. Q: Can I bring in an existing (gemstone, heirloom piece, etc.) to be modified, set, salvaged, etc.? A: Probably yes, depending on what it is. Email us and lets talk. Q: I Love a piece on your site, but it is the wrong size, or already sold. Can I get another one just like it? A: Yes, for most things we can recreate them in whatever size you need. However, as we exclusively use natural untreated gemstones, they are not as uniform as lab-created or chemically treated stones. Some gemstones are rare and functionally unique -- the best are bought at auction and we might never see another one like it. While we can usually find a comparable gemstone, we cannot always exactly duplicate stones, but we can come close. The best policy is to work together to find the perfect gemstone for you, and then build a setting around it. Q: As a Gay, Lesbian, or other non-heteronormative couple, some jewelers have refused to work for us. How about you? A: Yes! We are excited to serve couples of all religious persuasions as well as Gay, Lesbian, and other non-heteronormative couples. We also like straight couples. This is just as important an ethical consideration to us as our material sourcing.  Q: Why all the bezel settings? Everyone else seems to use prong settings. . .A: We use predominantly bezel settings because they are the most secure and durable of all settings. The bezel is a time tested setting dating back 2500 years to the Etruscan Goldsmiths. Prong settings are far more recent developments, and far more fragile, as the stone is both more likely to be damaged, and more likely to be lost. Many people spend thousands of dollars on beautiful gemstones, only to lose them when the tiny prongs break. Prong settings also collects dirt and debris. Also, all of our work is fabricated by hand, whereas nearly all modern prong settings are cast by machines. To allow a comparable amount of light to reach the stone we have developed a pierced bezel design, which has the best attributes of the prong and bezel settings. The image to the left shows a .25 carat Gray-Green Milk Diamond in a pierced bezel setting. Q. Where are you located? Can I buy or commission something from far away? A. We are located in Portland, Oregon. And, yes, we regularly ship jewelry all over the world. We can work with you via email, telephone, and video-conferencing, and we can accept payment from credit cards or bank accounts through PayPal. However, for significant commissions like commitment jewelry and reliquary pieces, we prefer to have at least one in-person planning and design session. If necessary we will, of course, work with you remotely but nothing really substitutes for face-time. Q. I own a Piercing Shop and would like to feature your body jewelry. Is it possible to get wholesale pricing? A. Wholesale discounts are possible for quantity purchases by individuals in the professional piercing community. Please contact us for more information. Q. I have a bizarre or unusual piercing. Can you make me something unique for it? A. Yes! this is one of our favorite types of commissions. We would love to work with you, but we will only sell pieces which we think are safe (i.e. not a "safe piercing" but rather a safe piece of jewelry). Q. Will will you make me jewelry or related items for my extreme or deviant lifestyle or fetish? (I.e. will you make me a Diamond studded cock-ring with backward raking spikes?) A. Probably. Shoot us an email and lets talk. Q. What is the deal with reliquary and memorial jewelry. A. Reliquary jewelry are usually hollow formed metal spheres or disks, which are filled with a small amount of the ashes of a deceased loved one. The hole in the hollow piece is often sealed with a bezel set gemstone. They can be made in a variety of shapes, and have a variety of symbols etched or inlayed on them. Making pieces like this is a very important part of what we do, and we are available for such commissions. Memorial jewelry does not contain human ash, and thus can be made in any form desired. For more details visit the Reliquary & Memorial Jewelry page, or email us.
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