Granulation with Julia Lowther, June 27-28, 2026

Saturday-Sunday, June 27-28, 2026
2:00 - 5:00 pm, PT
2, 3-hour sessions

Instructor: Julia Lowther

Granulation has been used by jewelry makers to adorn precious metal surfaces for over 3000 years and is one of the most highly regarded methods of jewelry decoration. The success of the process hinges on the quality of the granules you prepare. In this workshop, you will learn to make tiny granules of fine silver, as well as numerous tricks to create uniform granules in the sizes best suited to your work. You will also learn to make your own personal granulation sieve to sort granules accurately and quickly from 4mm down to a mere 0.3mm!

When precious metals are expensive or scarce, granulation allows jewelry makers to use only the tiniest amounts of precious metal to add eye-catching detail and texture to their work. After making both round and rod-shaped granules, you’ll learn to copper plate them with well-used pickle, place them precisely on a thin fine silver sheet, and fire the sheets with a torch to permanently and elegantly join the granules and the back plate.

Skill Level: Intermediate/Advanced

All classes include the video recording, which you will have access to for 60 days after the class. The Zoom link, handouts, video(s), and other important information can be found by clicking on the individual class link on the "My Courses" page. The Zoom link and handout (if any) will be available 24 hours before the class starts.

You also get 1 free session of Open Studio Access (OSA) in the month following your class. The Zoom link can be found on the course video access page.

The class supply list is below and contains links to buy the supplies you need.

Supply List for Students

Use the links below to purchase any supplies you don't already have for your class. This site may contain Amazon and other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, at no cost to you, we may receive a small commission on qualifying purchases.

Recommended Supplies for Granulation Sieve Set:

• Wire Cloth Sample Pack - Coarse Mesh (9231T11, McMaster-Carr)
• Wire Cloth Sample Pack - Medium Mesh (9231T16, McMaster-Carr)
• Stackable, screw-together bead jars, ~1” (~40mm) diameter - you will need a total of 15-18 jars, here are two options:
• Set of 12 jars - 2 stacks of 6 (Fire Mountain Gems)
• Bead Storage Case with 25 Storage Jars (Amazon)
  
• Kwik-Seal All-Purpose Caulk (Amazon)
• Masking tape
• Scrap of coarse sandpaper

Recommended Tools for Granulation Sieve Set:

• Circle template (Amazon)
• Wire cutters (Amazon)
• Universal shears - 111253
• Jewelers saw frame (2.25” throat) -110039
• 2/0 jewelers saw blades (pkg/12) - 110306
• Small twist drill bit ~ 1.5mm
• Palette knife (Amazon) (needs to have a rounded tip about 8mm wide)
• Drill
• Ultra-fine point permanent marker
• (optional) Label Maker (Amazon)

Recommended Supplies for Granulation:

•  24-20ga round fine silver wire -105310gp
• Soft charcoal block - min. 3” x 4”
• 26ga stainless steel binding wire - 503073
  
• 22ga fine silver sheet - 101922
• Titebond Genuine Hide Glue (may not be vegan/vegetarian)(Amazon)
• My-T-Flux - 504006
• OR Battern’s Self-Pickling Flux (Amazon)
• Well-used pickle (should be blue, about half a cup)

Recommended Tools for Granulation:

• Straight-tip shop shears - 114227
• (optional) Solder cutting pliers (Otto Frei)
  
• (optional) Titanium solder pick - 503019 (clean, no flux)
• ~ 8” length of steel wire coat hanger (must respond to a magnet)
• Plastic tea infuser (Amazon)
  
• Small, inexpensive natural bristle paintbrush (size 3/0 is good)
• Scribe - 118200
• tweezers - 115018
• Tripod with fine-mesh screen - 502085
• If you already have a tripod, buy a FRESH fine-mesh screen - 502096
• Torch