How I Chipped a Stone Without Even Touching It

Why the mistake you're trying hardest to avoid isn't always the one that catches you.

PING. Years later, I can still hear that tiny, gut-wrenching sound ringing in my ears. I looked down at the tourmalinated quartz I’d been working on and immediately saw that a small, 5mm shard had chipped off the surface.

The strange part was, I knew I hadn’t hit it… so what the hell happened?!

Looking back, I don't think this story is really about chipping a stone. It's about a mistake I see jewelry makers make all the time... especially when they're trying their hardest to do everything right.

Once I understood what had actually happened, it completely changed the way I approached every project at the bench.

Everything had been going to plan (famous last words)

At the time, I was working in a jewelry studio in New York City where we spent our days making pieces in platinum and 18ct gold. After a while, you almost stopped noticing the ten-carat diamonds sitting around the workshop…

But you never stopped noticing the standard of work. Every piece that left that bench had to be exceptional.

The ring I’d been working on was no exception… and it wasn’t a quick afternoon project either.

It combined sterling silver and platinum, with the silver eventually being blackened to create contrast. I’d made a twisted platinum and silver bezel from scratch (which was even more difficult than it sounds, because platinum is so much stiffer than silver!)

By this point, I’d already invested about 15 hours into the piece. The design was finally coming together, the stone fit perfectly, and it felt like all that careful work was about to pay off.

I could smell the celebratory prosecco coming my way that evening!

All I had to do was attach the bezel to the gallery with the laser welder (as you can imagine, it would have been impossible to set a twisted wire bezel the traditional way).

I thought I knew what could go wrong and had covered my bases

If you’ve never used a laser welder before, they’re incredibly precise. You can place tiny welds exactly where you want them, even right beside a stone. Because I was working so close to the quartz, my entire focus became making sure the laser never accidentally touched it.

Every pulse landed where I’d intended. I wasn’t rushing. I wasn’t taking shortcuts.

Then came that tiny little PING.

The mistake was somewhere else…

For a few moments, I couldn’t understand what had happened. I’d avoided the one mistake I’d been worried about, yet somehow I’d still managed to chip the freeeeking stone!

It took me a while to realize that I hadn’t been watching the wrong thing…

I’d been watching only ONE thing.

I already knew that platinum doesn’t conduct heat particularly well. That’s one of the reasons it’s such a wonderful metal to work with using a laser welder.

I also knew that tourmalinated quartz is made from two different materials, which means it doesn’t always react evenly when it’s heated.

I knew both of those things… but I just wasn’t putting them together.

For those folks who love all the sciency stuff, here’s what had happened (and if you don’t love the technical bits, stick with me!):

While I was concentrating on making sure the laser never touched the stone, every pulse was quietly adding a little more heat to the platinum surrounding it.

Normally, your fingers start warning you when things are getting too hot…

But this time they didn’t, because the platinum wasn’t carrying that heat towards my fingers (and this ring was going to be a pretty big ring).

I never realized how much temperature was building around the stone. The laser never touched the quartz, but the heat certainly did.

The walk of shame

Once I’d worked out what had happened, it was time for the next gut punch: I had to go and tell my boss. I expected him to be furious, but instead his reaction was so much worse…

He looked at me and said he was disappointed. Then he looked back at the piece and said it again.

I could have dropped dead then and there. Please, someone shoot me with the laser welder.

I was apologizing profusely and desperately trying to fight off tears when the lovely Irena (the only other woman in the workshop) walked past and slipped a glass of water in front of me.

I’m still grateful for that small act of kindness that helped me get myself together, and maintain an ounce of dignity in front of my boss.

Thankfully, the stone wasn’t beyond saving. The chipped area was carefully reshaped using a diamond wheel. The stone belonged to someone else in the workshop, and thankfully they weren’t upset. Before long, the whole thing was forgotten!

At least, by everyone else… but not by me.

Tunnel vision is sneaky

For years, I thought the moral of this story was to be more careful with a laser welder. Looking back though, I’ve realized that’s not the lesson.

The truth is, I was being careful!

I was just concentrating too hard on avoiding the obvious mistake, that I’d stopped noticing everything else that was happening.

I was following the steps, but I wasn’t thinking like a jeweler.

Once I understood that, I started seeing the same pattern everywhere…

Someone learning to solder becomes so focused on getting the solder to flow that they stop thinking about where the flame is actually pointing.

Someone setting a stone is so worried about scratching the surface that they forget to check whether the setting is supporting it properly underneath.

Someone polishing spends ten minutes chasing one tiny scratch and accidentally softens a beautiful crisp edge in the process.

None of those people are being careless.

They're just looking at one small part of the job instead of the whole picture.

What experience really gives you

People often assume professional jewelers make fewer mistakes because they’ve received some kind of fancy education or are just naturally better… but I don’t think that’s true.

I think they’ve just collected more mistakes!

Every time something goes tits-up at the bench, it teaches you something new to look for. That’s actually one of the reasons I love teaching jewelry making…

Of course, I want to help you solder cleanly, set stones securely, and make beautiful jewelry.

But I also want to help you spot the things you don’t yet know to look for. I want to help you think like a jeweler… find those hidden little traps that nobody mentions, because they’re usually only obvious once you’ve fallen head first into the bottom of them.

These days, whenever I'm teaching a new technique, I try to explain not just what I'm doing, but what I'm keeping an eye on while I'm doing it. Where is the heat traveling? Which part could go tits-up. What could happen next if I keep going?

Those are the questions experience teaches you to ask.

And if there's one thing I'd encourage you to take away from this story, it's this...

Every now and then, pause for a moment.

Take your eyes off the tiny detail you've been concentrating on and look at the whole piece instead.

Sometimes the thing that's about to catch you out isn't the problem you've been watching all along.

It's the one you didn't even know to look for.

About The Author

Lucy Walker
Lucy Walker is the Founder of Lucy Walker Jewelry & the Metalsmith Academy, she’s a self-proclaimed crossfit box champ, dog mum, and wearer of a bunch of other hats. With over 17 years in the jewelry industry and 7 years empowering jewelry makers globally, Lucy has created world-class online training designed to take you from absolute beginner to jewelry-making pro! Whether you’re looking to build a business, or create beautiful pieces to wear and share with loved ones, Lucy has created the best community to help you do it.