The Recent Boom In Black Hills Gold Jewelry
Black Hills Gold Jewelry is an original American art form created in the 1870’s in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The design utilizes leaves, grape clusters and vines, made from “pink gold” and “green gold”, to surround the main focal point of each piece. The pink color is made by combining gold with copper, and the green color is made by adding Sterling Silver to gold. By law, any piece of jewelry bearing the description “Black Hills Gold” must be manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
While there are several manufacturers of authentic Black Hills Gold jewelry, Landstroms is the oldest and most famous. Landstrom’s roots date back to 1878 when S.T. Butler, trained by French prospector and goldsmith Henri LeBeau, opened the first Black Hills Gold jewelry manufacturing store with his son, George M. Butler in Deadwood, South Dakota. In 1919, the company was divided into two companies, the F.L. Thorpe Company and the Black Hills Jewelry Manufacturing Company. In 1944 Ivan Landstrom bought the Black Hills Jewelry Manufacturing Company and in 1995 The History of Black Hills Gold Jewelry went was changd forever when Landstroms acquired the F.L. Thorpe Company making Landstroms the sole owner of all the original Black Hills Gold designs.
How Black Hills Gold Jewelry is Made
Each new design begins with a two-dimensional drawing and becomes a three-dimensional design carved in wax. The wax is surrounded by a plaster-like substance and when heated, the wax melts and leaves a void that molten gold can be poured into. This creates a casting in 10 karat gold.
Beginning with 24 karat* gold bars, alloys of 12 karat gold are rolled into sheets of gold. Leaves and other component parts are punched out of these gold sheets and are then individually hand-soldered to the casted gold frame. Depending on the design, select pieces of Landstrom’s are dipped in liquid 24 karat gold to create a bright eye-catching finish.
Then it’s time for the “Wriggling” process, a handcrafted finishing method that creates the rich frosty depth in Landstrom’s leaves. The veins of each leaf are then meticulously hand engraved to produce unique light-catching prismatic cuts.
From the first step to the final inspection, each piece of Landstrom’s Original Black Hills Gold reflects the skills of up to 50 different highly trained artisans.
* What’s the difference between a Karat and a Carat?
A Karat is a unit of measure for the fineness of gold, equal to 1/24 of the total amount of pure gold in an alloy. Thus, 24k is pure gold. A Carat is a unit weight for precious stone, equal to 200 milligrams.
No two pieces of Original Landstroms Black Hills Jewelry are alike as each is hand made. Each piece of Landstrom’s jewelry reflects great pride in craftsmanship by talented artisans with skills taught by their predecessors over 100 years ago. Landstroms has been admired and sought after for over a century.
Gypsies traveling through South Dakota in the 1950’s started a legend which says, “To one who wears the Black Hills Gold, good luck and fortune will unfold.”
Popularity: 70% [?]
Related posts:
- The Black Opal: A Brilliant Colored Gem Opals are one of the most beautiful gems that can be found. These stones come in a remarkable selection of color and design, making them...
- Gold jewellery Do’s and Don’ts If purchase gold jewellery for yourself or a cherished one, selecting what and where to buy fine jewellery is usually a tough decision. Gold jewels...
- Gold Belly Ring - Common Questions & Answers About Gold Belly Rings If you have one or two questions about gold belly rings, I have created this listing of five frequently asked questions and answers that may...
- A Unique Men’s White and Black Diamond Engagement Ring Most engagement rings are unsuitable for men leaving most men without engagement rings. If you would like to have an engagement ring for the man...
- The Beautiful Black Onyx Out of all the gemstones in the world, one of the most unique and beautiful is the black onyx. Most often the black onyx stone...