What is this Alchemical Process that I use to create my Jewelry?

Welcome to my little shop! Here at Crystal Forged I make Electroformed Jewelry and I'm going to show you a bit about how I make my pieces. 

Electroforming is basically Alchemy 

Electroforming is the electrochemical deposition of metal (copper, in my case) onto an object. To give you the simplest explanation before I dive into it electroforming is the suspension of an object (cathode) in a solution of metal salts with an Anode (copper). Then a direct current of electricity is passed through the solution via the anode (+) and cathode (-) to transfer the metal ions onto the object where the metal forms and bonds onto it. 

Electroforming Vs. Electroplating

There is a bit of a difference between the the two types although they are both chemically and procedurally the same. Electroplating only deposits a very thin layer of metal onto an object, whereas electroforming is intended to build a substantial amount of metal onto the object. In some cases the object can even be removed and leave a metal shell. So electroforming is the strongest form of this art and is what I use to create my jewelry. 

My Process

My process always starts out with sketches. I tend to take some time to sketch out concepts and ideas I have with the crystals that I would like to use. I do get take a lot of inspiration from nature, fantasy books, and sometimes even my favorite shows and movies.  From there I start mocking up my designs with the crystals I picked out and any charms I may use. Most of my designs have sculptural elements so for those I use Apoxie Clay. Sculpting is one of my favorite ways to create my jewelry because it lets me be endlessly creative and I can always push my skills to new levels. Once the Apoxie Clay has dried, my piece is ready to get prepped to go through the actual electroforming process.

Preparing my Pieces

To prep my jewelry there are a few very important steps. First is painting everything that I want the copper to form over with conductive paint. The paint is what allows the magic to happen. Usually things like clay, organics, and crystals are not conductive and would not allow the copper ions to bond to them, but when they are painted with a conductive paint it allows the metal to bond to the object and creating that thick form of copper. After this steps I have to seal the parts of the piece that are more delicate and susceptible to damage from the electroforming bath. I tend to seal the exposed parts of the crystals I use, especially since some crystals that are not high up on the Moh scale of hardness can get eaten away by the acids in the bath. I use latex to seal up the crystals and any other exposed parts I do not want copper to form over. The latex also prevents the piece of jewelry from potentially contaminating the bath also. 

Forming

Once the paint and latex is dry the piece is ready to go into the electroforming bath. My setup consists of a rectifier to run my current through the bath, a large plastic container, thick copper wire for my anode, a bus bar to suspend my piece from, and some typical safety gear. This step takes the longest as the piece I am electroforming sits in the bath typically for 24 to 72 hours to really build up that thick coat of copper.

Patina and Sealing

The last step in my process is the Patina and Sealing. Each piece comes out of the bath a super shiny rose gold color, but I can turn it into various shades of bronze and all the way to black by using Liver of Sulfur Patina. After I have the desired color I will clean each piece and then seal it with Protecta-Clear.