Use tools to produce formed jewellery or formed silverware components — City & Guilds Limited End-Point Assessment Manufacturing & Engineering Revision

    This subtopic focuses on the practical skills and underpinning knowledge needed to shape flat sheet metal and wire into three-dimensional jewellery or silv

    Topic Synopsis

    This subtopic focuses on the practical skills and underpinning knowledge needed to shape flat sheet metal and wire into three-dimensional jewellery or silverware components using hand-forming tools such as hammers, stakes, mandrels, and doming blocks. Learners must safely and accurately apply techniques like dapping, raising, planishing, and swaging to achieve specified forms, while understanding how metal properties (e.g., ductility, work-hardening) influence the process. Assessment evidence typically includes finished formed pieces, underpinning knowledge documentation, and observation of safe tool handling in the workshop.

    Key Concepts & Core Principles

    Exam Tips & Revision Strategies

    Common Misconceptions & Mistakes to Avoid

    Examiner Marking Points

    Use tools to produce formed jewellery or formed silverware components

    CITY & GUILDS LIMITED
    vocational

    This subtopic focuses on the practical skills and underpinning knowledge needed to shape flat sheet metal and wire into three-dimensional jewellery or silverware components using hand-forming tools such as hammers, stakes, mandrels, and doming blocks. Learners must safely and accurately apply techniques like dapping, raising, planishing, and swaging to achieve specified forms, while understanding how metal properties (e.g., ductility, work-hardening) influence the process. Assessment evidence typically includes finished formed pieces, underpinning knowledge documentation, and observation of safe tool handling in the workshop.

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    Learning Outcomes
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    Assessment Guidance
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    Key Skills
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    Key Terms
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    Assessment Criteria

    Assessment criteria

    City & Guilds Level 2 Diploma in Jewellery Manufacturing

    Topic Overview

    The City & Guilds Level 2 Diploma in Jewellery Manufacturing is a comprehensive vocational qualification designed to equip students with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge needed to work in the jewellery industry. This diploma covers a wide range of essential techniques, including sawing, filing, soldering, polishing, and stone setting, as well as an understanding of materials such as precious metals and gemstones. Students learn to interpret design briefs, create accurate working drawings, and produce finished pieces to a professional standard, all while adhering to health and safety regulations.

    This qualification is crucial for anyone aspiring to become a bench jeweller, repair technician, or workshop assistant, as it provides the foundational skills recognised by employers across the UK. The diploma also introduces students to quality assurance processes, costing, and customer service, ensuring they are well-prepared for the commercial realities of the trade. By combining hands-on workshop practice with underpinning knowledge, the course bridges the gap between traditional craftsmanship and modern manufacturing techniques, making it highly relevant in today's jewellery sector.

    Key Concepts

    Core ideas you must understand for this topic

    • →Sawing and Piercing: Using a jeweller's saw to cut intricate shapes in metal, including internal cut-outs (piercing), with control and precision.
    • →Soldering: Joining metal components using hard or soft solder, understanding flux, heat control, and the different grades of solder (enamelling, hard, medium, easy).
    • →Annealing and Pickling: Softening metal through controlled heating (annealing) to prevent cracking during working, and cleaning oxides using pickling solutions (e.g., sulphuric acid or safety pickle).
    • →Stone Setting: Basic techniques such as rub-over (gypsy) setting and claw setting, including preparing the seat and securing the stone without damage.
    • →Polishing and Finishing: Using abrasive papers, mops, and compounds to achieve a high-quality surface finish, including satin, matt, and high-polish effects.

    Learning Objectives

    What you need to know and understand

    • Understand the importance of safe working practice when producing formed components, Understand how to form jewellery and silverware components, Be able to use tools to produce formed components

    Assessment Criteria

    Key criteria assessors look for in your portfolio

    • Award credit for demonstrating correct and consistent use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and safe operating procedures throughout the forming process.
    • Award credit for selecting appropriate stakes, hammers, or mandrels that match the required form and for justifying the choice based on metal thickness and desired contour.
    • Award credit for applying annealing correctly at appropriate stages to prevent splitting, and for showing evidence of understanding when work-hardening has occurred.
    • Award credit for producing a formed component that matches the specified design within acceptable tolerances, with smooth contours free from deep tool marks or unintended distortion.
    • Award credit for maintaining tools in good working condition (e.g., polished hammer faces) and returning them to correct storage after use.

    Assessment Guidance

    Guidance for achieving higher grades

    • 💡In your portfolio, include a step-by-step photographic record of the forming process with captions explaining key decisions (e.g., when and why you annealed, which hammer you chose).
    • 💡Before starting the practical assessment, sketch the forming stages and discuss your planned tool selection with the assessor to demonstrate thorough preparation.
    • 💡Practice forming a sample piece to test tool setups and metal response; this reduces mistakes in the final assessment and shows professional diligence.
    • 💡During the observation, verbalise your safety checks and tool inspections as you work—assessors credit candidates who show habitual safe practice rather than just following a checklist.
    • 💡If a mistake occurs, demonstrate you understand how to correct it (e.g., planishing to remove hammer marks, re-annealing to soften); this can turn an error into evidence of problem-solving.
    • 💡Always check your saw blade tension before starting; a properly tensioned blade (making a clear 'ping' sound when plucked) will cut straighter and break less often, saving you time and marks.
    • 💡When soldering, ensure your joint is perfectly clean and fluxed, and heat the entire piece evenly before focusing on the joint. Uneven heating can cause the solder to run to the hottest spot, not the joint.
    • 💡For polishing, work through the grades systematically (e.g., from 400 grit to 1200 grit, then mops) and clean the piece between each stage to avoid cross-contamination that ruins the finish.

    Common Mistakes

    Common errors to avoid in your coursework

    • Failing to anneal the metal frequently enough, leading to cracking or tearing during forming, especially on deep drawn shapes.
    • Using a flat-faced hammer on a curved stake, causing unwanted facets or marring instead of achieving a smooth, consistent curve.
    • Holding the hammer incorrectly or using excessive force, resulting in deep dents, stretched thin areas, or loss of control over the shape.
    • Starting to form without a clear plan or sequence, leading to asymmetrical components or an inability to replicate the shape consistently.
    • Neglecting to secure the stake or workpiece properly, causing the metal to slip or vibrate, which compromises accuracy and safety.
    • Misconception: 'You can use the same solder for all joints.' Correction: Different solders have different melting points; hard solder is used for first joints, medium for subsequent, and easy for final joins to avoid melting previous work.
    • Misconception: 'Pickling cleans the metal instantly.' Correction: Pickling requires the metal to be hot (but not red-hot) and takes time; rushing can lead to incomplete oxide removal or thermal shock.
    • Misconception: 'A saw blade cuts on both the push and pull stroke.' Correction: Jeweller's saw blades cut only on the push stroke; applying pressure on the pull stroke can break the blade or cause inaccurate cuts.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Common questions students ask about this topic

    Before You Start

    Prior knowledge that will help with this topic

    • •Basic understanding of health and safety in a workshop environment, including fire safety and safe use of tools.
    • •Elementary mathematical skills for measuring and calculating material quantities (e.g., length, weight, cost).
    • •Manual dexterity and patience, as jewellery making requires fine motor control and attention to detail.

    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    • Understand the importance of safe working practice when producing formed components, Understand how to form jewellery and silverware components, Be able to use tools to produce formed components

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