by Paula Atwell

Created on: February 13, 2009   Last Updated: March 06, 2009

The introduction of Precious Metal Clay has revolutionalized the metalsmithing community, especially in relation to making jewelry. Precious Metal Clay is a product that was created by Mitsubishi Corporation as a byproduct of another manufacturing process. PMC comes in several formulas, primarily in silver, although it is also available in gold.

If you are new to working with PMC, start small. Precious Metal Clay is expensive because it is not really clay. PMC is made of fine particles of precious metal-either silver or gold-mixed with an organic binder. Although the material looks like clay in its raw form, it is really fine silver or gold. Since the price of silver or gold goes up and down according to the marketplace, so does the price of PMC.

One of the most important things to remember when working with Precious Metal Clay is that it is very expensive so you never want to throw any of it away, whether it gets dried out or is sanded away into dust. PMC is easily reconstituted, and can be reused in several forms.

Most often PMC is purchased as lump clay. That means it comes in a package literally as a lump of the material. From this format, it can be treated just about the way you would any other type of clay. You can roll it, slice it, pound it, and shape it. Be aware that it does dry out rapidly and in order for it to be malleable, it needs to be damp.

You can also buy PMC paste or slip. Slip is used almost like a sealant or glue. You can use slip to fill in holes, cracks, or other imperfections and also to attach two pieces of clay together.

Two other forms that Precious Metal Clay is available in are PMC sheet, and PMC syringes. Both of these formats are used for speciality design purposes. Sheet is very thin and can be cut with scissors. The syringe is used to created extremely delicate filigree designs.

It is recommended that beginners to PMC use lump PMC in the PMC+ formula and simple tools to start off. It is the most forgiving of the formulas, and easiest to use.

One of the things that makes Precious Metal Clay so great to work with is that you can use 100% of the material. Any scraps can be reconsituted into either slip or lump clay. Even it the clay dries out completely, it can be reworked. It is also a non-toxic material. There are no toxic fumes when you fire it.

PMC makes jewelry making possible with a much shorter learning curve than traditional metalsmithing. It makes it easier, and quicker to make silver or gold jewelry, and allows a new dimension to be added to the jewelry making field both in style and process. It is great as a hobby or a career and can easily be combined with other jewelry making techniques.

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