Successful
Jewelry Engraving
by Sam Alfano

a review by Rod Cameron

Sam Alfano's new teaching DVD.

A new day has dawned in teaching videos! Once we were all quite pleased to have "how to" tapes  to view, especially when this was the only way to have a peek at what experienced engravers were doing. Before the advent of fast internet and forums, and when engravers and other skilled crafts people were a bit reluctant to do any show and tell, analogue video tapes of anyone engraving, when you could get them, were sought after, even if the quality was sometimes less than ideal.

Picture quality, camera position, and focus were still being experimented with, and when it came to capturing tiny engraving shots, well, quite often you got a good picture of someone's thumb, rather than the tool. Nonetheless we were grateful, and that was the state of video at that time.

Sam Alfano's new DVD has the same high standards that we have been seeing in other recent teaching videos. You will have your own favorites? Sam's presents  good ideas for would-be gun engravers to broaden their range into jeweler engraving in a way that might help to bring in some reasonably good hourly wages during these days of tight finance. If you are at the top of your profession, chances are you can surf over the recession, and keep on getting those big commissions. It is mid-range engravers who may suffer, as discretionary spending is now being  looked at carefully. So Sam's good advice is to make sure your local jewelry stores know that you are ready and willing to take on some custom work on gold and silver rings, bracelets, etc.  It may surprise you to discover that your hourly wage when cutting  ring ornaments, or lettering for the bride and groom, could be pretty good, and your way into that work is to make sure the local jewelry stores know about you, and have a few samples.

Sam Alfano is firing on all cylinders, in case you have not noticed. We all know his history as artist, firearms engraver, moving forward into a broad engraving career, photographer, teacher, computer savvy, and video editor. So it is no surprise that Sam's video displays the clarity, focus, close-ups and clear shots that are a pleasure to view. Technology has moved forward over the years to assist us, yet good video still needs careful planning, and Sam has come up with a nice DVD for our viewing. It is important not to cram too much onto a teaching DVD. Sam chooses some examples that will be appealing to jewelry stores  ... for example nice narrow ornamentation for rings, and some bright cut scrolls, etc. These are carefully and clearly illustrated, and you will be able to perfect the cuts on practice plates and rings, then start dropping off a few of these at stores in your neighborhood, and see if you can get  commissions. Tight economy or no, people do meet, fall in love, and get married, and are always delighted by some custom engraving on their precious objects.

I have this DVD on my shelf!

Rod Cameron

Back to VIDEOS