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The Art of Keum Boo - Golden Butterfly Pendant

Get started with the basics of Keum Boo and create a beautiful butterfly pendant

About the Class

This class is a gentle introduction to Keum Boo, an ancient Korean technique whose name literally translates as “attached gold”. Using heat and pressure rather than solder, Keum Boo creates a strong permanent bond between 24k gold and fine silver that is far thicker and richer than gold plating.

One of the wonderful things about this technique is that a very small amount of gold can make a huge impact, allowing you to add beautiful warm gold details to your jewellery without using large amounts of expensive material.

In this class, I’ve kept the project design simple so that we can really focus on understanding the technique itself. I’ll guide you step by step through how Keum Boo works, the equipment and materials you’ll need, and how to achieve a successful bond between the gold and silver.

Although Keum Boo traditionally uses fine silver and 24k gold, I’ll also show you how sterling silver can be used, making the technique much more accessible for beginners. This is a fascinating and surprisingly addictive process that adds a completely different dimension to your jewellery making while still using a relatively simple setup!

All of the Art of Keum Boo classes are part of the Jeweller's Bench membership - click here for more details

READY TO JOIN? CLICK HERE

You will need:

Materials:
* 13mm by 26mm 0.8mm sterling silver sheet
* 24k Keum Boo gold foil, larger enough to three approx 1cm butterflies
* a small jump ring for the bail
* a chain to finish the pendant

Equipment: (all the jewellery making kit listed here can be used for many different projects)
* Soldering kit - see here for more details
* Ultralite kiln or hot plate
* Steel or agate burnisher
* Wooden coffee stirrer (or similar) and small pot of water
* Tracing paper and pencil
* Ruler, sharpie and scissors
* Paper craft punch (it doesn't have to be a butterfly one!)
* Needle files (small files) and 6" flat file
* Jeweller's saw and bench peg
* Steel block
* Very fine sanding pad
* Drill and 0.9mm drill bit
* Flat nose pliers

An explanation of all the tools and materials that you need is included in the videos, and a downloadable equipment and materials list is available with the class.

As you will find for all of the Keum Boo classes, this project is easy to adapt to the size of materials you have available and to your style. Change the size and shape of the pendant, change the shape of the gold - it's up to you!  

1 hour 28 minutes long, 14 lessons


Course Curriculum

Reviews

"Great class, with lots of really pertinent tips and explanations."
Dawn G.
"Such a great technique! I love the mix of silver and gold so thank you for teaching me how to do it!
Sue H.
"Excellent class!  Thank you"
Sue C.

Joanne Tinley

Tutor and Founder of The Jeweller's Bench

The Jeweller's Bench is run by Joanne Tinley. She has been making her own jewellery for as long as she can remember and left her first career as a school teacher to set up business as a  jewellery designer and tutor nearly 20 years ago. She is
self-taught and like many people started with wire and beads. Learning how to solder, however, opened up a whole new world of jewellery making,  one that she is keen to share!

Legal Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to show safe working practices and to discuss health and safety aspects of jewellery making, but in the end I cannot take responsibility for how the tutorial information is used and how safely you work. Take the effort to set up your work area safely right from the start!
All Rights Reserved. No part of this course may be reproduced or shared without express, written consent from the author.

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