Silver 'Jewelly'
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Tue 5 Dec 2017 23:27
Our Stop at a Silversmiths
We pulled up beside the dock of a
silversmith, the sign read jewelly,
novel.......
A keen young lady scooped us from the
dock and had us on stools, listening attentively, before we could blink. She
showed us an ore producing rock and a grinder. The chemical solution used to separate out the silver and the little bits they gather from sieving the
solution.
To her side a chap had
been using the bellows to raise the heat below a tiny little pot, happy with the
fluid-state, he
poured it into a stone mould.
He dunked the silver ingot in cold water and handed it to our
guide.
The machine and measuring gauge used
in silver wire making.
Our guide showed us
silver fish “designed by my grandfather and unique to
this works, this is a family business”, the segmented
fish waggle – up and down for the boys, side to side for the girls.
Funnily enough, we had seen the very fish on several of the market stalls such a
short time ago........
A
cousin was making bracelets. Concertina design
and a traditional classic.
Another cousin was
making baskets for earrings and we were shown a gong necklace.
Another cousin was just finishing putting a junk link on a tiny fish, cute but not robust enough for me to
wear.
Our guide showed us how
to rub metal on a stone, silver for silver, a golden colour for plate and a tiny set of basket earrings
happen to be in shot........
A final cousin was
working with gems.
Politely we looked
around the shop and returned to our boat having
thanked our guide.
ALL IN ALL ANOTHER
INTERESTING LITTLE STOP
OLD FASHIONED PROCESSES STILL WORK
PERFECTLY |