As good as gold: jewellery-making classes in Beijing

Try your hand at soldering, sculpting and sawing with these Beijing classes

It’s easy to wear jewellery, but making it by hand is a completely different story. Try your hand at soldering, sculpting and sawing with these Beijing jewellery-making classes.

For beginners: Augusmith

‘Everyone’s style is the exact same these days,’ Augusmith director Meng Xiangdong tells us. He blames Taobao and the fact that, largely, people don’t design and make things by hand. If you’re inclined to agree but don’t know where to get started, workshop Augusmith offers 90-minute metalworking courses from its studios inside Chaoyang Joy City and Haidian’s Jinyuan Mall (from 588RMB) where students are taught introductory design skills and then get to work firing up the blow torches. 

The company has workshops in Chongqing and Shanghai, but is headquartered in Beijing’s arts enclave Caochangdi, where a massive loft workshop is also set up for students to create anything from fine jewellery such as wedding rings, to more practical objects, including pet tags and bar spoons. Find Augusmith on WeChat (ID: augusmith2005).

For the entrepreneurial: JZ Atelier

At spacious 798 studio JZ Atelier, workshops run the gamut from beading to silversmithing to stone setting, but the speciality here is enamelling. During a course, skilled instructors are on hand to help students wash enamel powder and attempt the delicate work of dabbing the wet sand onto rings or pendants, before they’re placed inside a kiln to bake at a toasty 800 degrees celcius.

A course like this one starts at 800RMB and includes all the materials and tools you’ll need. Many workshops are based on a pick-your-price model depending on the piece you’d like to make, and students feeling entrepreneurial can put their pieces up for sale in JZ’s small storefront. Find JZ Atelier on WeChat (ID: JZatelier).

For the tech savvy: 3D Roundhouse

A transplant from New York City and Hong Kong, 3D Roundhouse Beijing offers 3D-printed jewellery-making classes for the tech savvy as well as beginners. First, students learn how to create a 3D model using free and open-source programmes – note that you’ll need to download them before your class and then bring a laptop along on the day.

The three-hour workshops (880RMB) walk students through a series of basic tools, like how a 2D image gets turned into a 3D one, before heading to the printers, where baubles are brought to life, just like in Westworld. At the end of the workshop, objects are printed in plastic (the same kind used for Lego bricks), however if it simply has to be gold, 3D Roundhouse will send your model out of house to have it made in a higher quality metal from a printer around town. Find 3D Roundhouse on WeChat (ID: YCW_3DR).

For fine jewellery: River

Opened by a team of gemstone experts, Shunyi studio River teaches students the design skills to create fine jewellery that’ll have you feeling like the next Cartier. However I’m assured beautiful yet more affordable man-made gems can be swapped for the real thing. 

During workshops, partners Chen, Oliver and Tai also draw inspiration from traditional Chinese techniques; one common skill they teach during introductory three-hour classes (from 1,000RMB) is filigree – delicately twisting fine threads of gold or silver together to make creations that are as light as lace – as well as sketching, creating wax moulds and stone-setting. The studio also offers in-depth month-long courses. Find River on WeChat (ID: 18510831821).

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