Developed in Japan in the 1990s, Precious Metal Clay (PMC) is made up of metal particles mixed with moist organic binding. Like clay, the substance can be worked and moulded to create various shapes and forms and is ideal for jewellery making. When heated by a kiln or gas torch the binding is stripped away to leave the metal particles. The final product can be polished and decorated to create a unique and individual item. The majority of PMC is made with silver particles, but there are many forms of metal clay available made from different metals and with varying firing requirements.

Available in a variety of forms, PMC is also presented in a sheet or paper format which is ideal for creating interesting shapes through origami which are then dried and fired to become silver pieces which can be used as trinkets or as jewellery.

PMC sheets go a long way and it is important to keep any left over clay once finished with as this can be used for future projects.

Using PMC Sheets

Unlike other PMC products, precious metal clay sheets are different in that they can be used dry. Being an oil based product, the sheets will remain flexible to allow plenty of time for you to create, arrange and rearrange your designs. Despite being so thin, the flexible quality of the sheets means that scissors and hole punching can be used on them. The sheets are a versatile way of creating interesting and inspiring shapes and designs out of PMC, which are then fired to become a dense metal. Unlike normal PMC the binding substance is slightly different to give it more flexible and easy to use features.

As thick as one playing card, if used in heated conditions alone it would dry up and burn, so in order to withstand the heat of a kiln or gas torch the final piece needs to be made to the thickness of a minimum of three playing cards. In contrast to other precious metal clay products, sheets are to be kept dry as when in contact with water they will lose some of their compliant qualities.

Cutting PMC Sheets

An advantage to creating a form with a precious metal clay sheet is its simplicity to work with, allowing it to be easily cut using scissors or hole punched using interesting shaped punches varying in design and size. There are also scissors available in craft shops which create a scalloped look around the edges of paper, which is an ideal tool for PMC sheet designs.

The only disadvantage to using PMC sheets is that they cannot be repaired or rejoined and careful attention is required to the thickness of the pieces before going through the firing process. Any edges or areas too thin will tend to burn.

A PMC sheet is designed to not stick to itself, so if you want to layer the sheets glue can be used to hold the clay sheets together. However, too much moisture can cause the properties used in the PMC sheets to deform or disintegrate.

Author Bio: Adam Hunter – E-commerce Marketing Manager of cooksongold.com. Cookson Precious Metals offer a choice of supplies from over 10,000 products including gold and silver wire, jewellery findings, tools, precious metal clay and precious metal sheet – gold, silver, platinum and palladium plus technical information for jewellers, jobbers, designer, craftsmen, artisans and students. For interviews, quotes, images or comments contact: Adam Hunter E-commerce Marketing Manager Tel(DDI): +44 (0) 121 212 6491 E-mail: adam.hunter@cooksongold.com

Category: Arts and Crafts
Keywords: origami,precious metal clay,pmc,silver,art,sheet