This auction represents the initial introduction of the new multi-media CD-ROM compilation of Gerald Wykoff's famous book, "Master Jewelry Design & Creation." The now-out-of-print book sold more than 40,000 copies . . . and was hailed as a breakthrough by industry's leaders.

So, if you've ever toyed with the idea of producing fine, professional level casted jewelry then this comprehensive program may be just the tool to launch your career. It contains much, much more than the printed version . . . including an array of streaming videos, animations, sound tracks, text, pictures, narrations, illustrations . . . and, best of all, interactivity with the program.

Have you ever experienced that wonderful desire to design an item of precious jewelry - and then see it in its glorious, finished high polished metal form . . . a true work of designer art?

If you have, then this multi-media program can blast away any hesitation. It's just like having a master gemcutter and goldsmith hovering over your shoulder.

You'll be treated to a fact-filled and highly entertaining treatment from the development of an original idea to the ultimate joy of wearing. Don't fret over "I'm not the creative type" because a unque Connector concept starts with you drawing a square, circle or triangle (even a straight line!) and then developing this basic shape into spectacular designs, shapes and motifs.

From the idea, you'll be launched into the trademarked TIM (Temporary Impression Molding) technique. This is a process that enables you to make jewelry models not just in traditional wax but also in wood, sticks, paper, cardboard, potatoes (yes, and the revelation of the secrets to make imitation ivory out of a common potato is alone worth the cost of the program), clay, plastic . . . you name the substance - and with TIM it can probably be worked with.

Once you've developed your idea and made a model, the program shows you how to produce casting wax models which can then be converted into metal via the lost wax casting method. Casting equipment can cost thousands but you'll learn to make a $25 steam casting setup that'll do everything the big, expensive systems do. The program even concludes with a marvelous discussion on Jewelry Fashion . . . what gems and jewels look best on certain people.

What stamps this program with uniqueness is the fact that you don't need extensive goldsmith or casting training plus an array of special, expensive tools to perform TIM: just get yourself a couple of sharp knives, a pair of scissors, a paste post, some superglue and you're ready to go to work making incredibly beautiful fine jewelry.

Convinced you don't have ideas enough to create fine jewelry? Just watch a 10-second video of Wykoff producing a "bent teardrop" with a lovely Citrine - and you'll realize that Chapter Two - Idea Creation will have your brain buzzing with workable ideas.
Master Jewelry Design and Creation - $25.00

Note: If you purchase the all-metal CJP assembly kit you should be aware that the most popular index gear - the 32-notch - comes with the kit. If you want other symmetries, you'd need only obtain a 30, 40 and 48.
Metal Index Gears - $40 set of 4 Gears

Note: You might also want to click on the following titles to review other gemological expertise tutorials such as 1) actually utilizing gemological expertise,"GemologyII: Analysis/Testing Procedures For Gems" or 2) acquirying sharp buying-evaluation skills such as those in Street Smart Savvy For Gold, Gem and Jewelry Buyers.

The importance of a substantial foundation led Gerald Wykoff GG CSM PhD to write a best-selling book, "Beyond the Glitter," so you and others could quickly and easily - with one reading from once source - become a gem and gemology expert. That's right - without the big investment in money and long, intense training.

The best selling book was so good that it became required reading for Graduate Gemology training at the famed Gemological Institute of America and the American Society of Gemcutters and the International Gem Society. GG's still refer to it constantly as a "reminder" reference. It went out of print but the demand for its contents persisted so Wykoff, now retired, translated an updated version of the entire book for the PC computer. Offered here in auction, is an updated, expanded and comprehensive multi-media CD-ROM which incorporates much more than a mere introduction to gemology and gemstone jewelry. It ranges over all aspects of the gem and jewelry arts from Ancient to Modern time. Even a one-time read thru on this program and you'll astonish your friends with the depth of your knowledge of gems and gemology.

This highly entertaining yet comprehensive multi-media program will make a professional level gemologist out of any participant. Using the entire gamut of interactive computer sound, video, animation, music, text and illustrative capabilities, the completion time is accelerated while retention is expanded. In 300-page book form, this title sold more than 40,000 copies and became recommended reading for gemology/lapidary people at the Gemological Institute of America

A listing of the subject areas you will find in this remarkable program includes:

• Gems - a general discussion of gems, crystals and their physical and optical properties.
• Gem Care - how do you properly clean and maintain gems so they'll remain valuable and beautiful. How can you assure a firm grip in the metal mountings using an ordinary kitchen spoon.
• Gem Enhancements - a woman puts on lipstick judiciously to enhance her appearance. Lab technicians do essentially the same things to gemstones and it's best if you know what applications are made to what gems - and how permanent these enhancements are and why the FTC demands their disclosure.
• Synthetic Gems - you'd better know all about this area because almost all natural crystals can now be duplicated in every physical, opticla and chemical sense in a laboratory. Why won't the famed GIA authenticate a ruby if it's not in a setting thanks to the man-made Kashan ruby made by the late Trueheart Brown in Dallas, TX.
• Precious Metals - this is a subject that many feel is even more fascinating than gems. Why to Brits call it "five eighty five" or "seventy five" gold and not 14K or 18K gold as Americans do? How do they make colored gold? How can you evaluate good gold work?
• Diamonds - the Greeks called them the "unconquerables" for good reason. For centuries they've remained the kind shrugging off imitation attemps such as zircon, high reflective glass, cubic zirconia, GGG, Moisannite. Now they're even making diamonds in the laboratory - and the diamond is still unconquerable. Why? And what about their mystique?
• Colored Stones - It would normally take years to learn all the information that exists about colored stones but here are the essentials, the basics. Read this section and you'll have a remarkably deep understanding and appreciation for nature's greatest and most colorful wonders.
• Style - there's a style to wearing the right jewelry under the right circumstances at the right time. Find out the secrets of developing "jewelry style."
• Investments - are gemstones, particularly diamonds, a reasonable investment. Can you - and should you - buy diamonds and colored stones as investments? The answers may surprise you.
• Gemstone Expertise - Here are the final aspects of a good gemological instruction program. Know these details and you'll never be stumped by sales talk or bamboozle. You'll walk and talk the "game" when you combine your knowledge and demonstrate expertise.

As indicated, this CD-ROM program versions is not a compressed version of the original book. It's really an expansion. Not only does this program contain everything from the original book but you will also find new, updated sections, especially with regard to gem enhancements and disclosures. The video, sound and animations make high retention learning an easy cinch. If you want to be on a level of gemological expertise in a complex field - and enjoy a new, wonderful experience in learning - without devoting years of study, this is the way to go.
Beyond the Glitter - $25.00

With the small vacuum former (the plans give one set of dimensions but you can change these easily), you merely place a model on a perforated table and use the family vacuum cleaner for suction. The suction drawns a hot sheet of plastic (usually easily obtained styrene) down over the model, forming a perfectly matched shell.

It goes without saying that color changes can be achieved merely by placing different colored plastic sheets in the heater holder.

Yes, a vacuum former is somewhat hi-tech, but the press is incredibly simple to make and use. It's constructed by gluing or epoxying wood parts together. For this you'll need a saw, a ruler and a screwdriver. To use, you clamp a sheet of plastic in the holder and hold the plastic-holder over a stove top or hot plate until the plastic begins to sag.

Then you quickly plant the hot plastic over the top of the vacuum box and the vacuum's suction draws the plastic down tight over the powdered model (you powder the model a bit to achieve easy relase between shell and model) and in a moment, you have a customized plastic box or an exact plastic replication of whatever shape the model is.

You'll be astonished at how quickly, easily and economically you can build one of these helpful shop devices. They're a boon for jewelry makers and small parts retailers because each shaped box (here, you're limited only by your imagination) costs only a few pennies to make yourself. You could even start a business bronzing baby shoes with this device . . . or metallizing tool holders, picture holders and even spectacular 3D book covers.

The CD program comes to you in Adobe's PDF format which is readable by PC and Mac alike.
Plastic Vacuum Forming Press - $25.00

Especially for people interested in gem cuting but jolted by commercial equipment prices, the Power Platform plans ffer a breakthrough multi-media CD-ROM tutorial. The fully explained and illustrated instructions will show anyone how to build a hand powered horizontal lapping platform - and if the plans are followed carefully the Power Platform won't cost much over $30.

The design of the Power Platform focuses on the need for few tools and/or difficult to find parts. As a result, a quick trip to the hardware store should produce the necessary supplies i.e., some half-inch wood, hex bolts with washers and nuts, some plain (or ball) bearings, PC-11 paste epoxy and a few electrical parts (there's no electricity involved but the outlet cover box makes a wonderful lap platen). You'll probably need to buy a drive belt or two and the tutorial will describe the type, length and material - and provide you with an Internet link where you can buy it along with other components.

You'll have a bit of sawing, drilling and gluing to do - and presto! within a few hour or so you will have a Power Platform. Because the Power Platform design was created and constructed by Supreme Master Faceter Gerald Wykoff, it offers features that are required for faceting operatons. These features include a drainable splash pan, an auto water supply setup and a large working surface where a faceter can perform dopping, rough management, transferring and index gear-peg changes.

What makes the Power Platform concept so unique involves its size (the tutorial recommends a 12"x18" platform surface), speed control, operational ease, flexibility and durability. For example, the platform unit you make out of wood and some hardware store items will be capable of rpm speeds from one to 800 rpm, accommodate cutting disk diameters from 4" to 8" - and can be utilized as a stand alone platform or installed in a desk or bench.

What makes this comprehensive ebook in Adobe's PDF format so different from anything else in the field is that it covers ALL methods of treating and altering the colors of gemstones so that the average lapidary hobbyist can perform the "arts of dyeing and staining." There are technique's in this book that are not even mentioned in Dr. Kurt Nassau's famous "Gemstone Enhancements."

Furthermore, the Wykoff book not only primarily emphasizes practical DIY techniques for lapidaries on color changes through dyeing, but gives careful how-to consideration to nearly all other forms of treatment and enhancement. That means just about anyone who can read can be made capable of coloring and treating gemstones. You haven't truly lived until you've used your own acquired skills with a special honey-acid formula to turn common old Andamooka matrix opal into beautiful, gleaming, highly valuable black opal.

Make no mistake about it, though. This book is almost a "must" for gemologists, too. It's one thing to gloss over the treatment-enhancement area and it's something else to have a deep and full understanding of what's involved in the various processes. Once there's a knowledge of just what was done in a particular treatment situation, a true jewelry specialist or gemologist can more readily detect treatments just by knowing exactly how its done - and where to probe for evidence of alteration.

You'll find out the specific techniques and dye-chemical sources for such techniques as:

• dyeing with aniline dyes
• dyeing with metallic acid dyes
• dyeing with chemicals
• color changing with heat
• color alteration through smoking
• the benefits of ordinary bleaching
• some workshop level techniques for heat treatment (with complete explanations of the more costly - and dangerous - methods such as hi-temp heating, irradiation with cyclotrons, diffusing, lasering, etc.)
• coloring and impregnation as treatments for color change and "camouflage" of imperfections
• backing techniques (a bit beyond mere doublet and triplet creation)

Besides a general and intricate explanation of techniques, there are separate sections devoted exclusively to certain recongized (but little known) DIY enhancement techniques as applied to such specific gem types as:

• -- Emeralds
• -- Rubies, Sapphires and Paraparadshaws
• -- Chalcedony
• -- Coral
• -- Opal
• -- Tiger Eye
• -- Black Onyx (there's no such thing as natural black onyx so ALL black onyx is dyed gem material and you'll learn about the three separate - and rather easy - methods for making black onyx)
• -- Turquoise
• -- Pearls

Finally, it takes heat, even lower temperature heat, to carry out many of the treatment techniques. In the final section of this reference book, you'll find a whole host of alternatives for coming up with a low tempeature oven - and you'll even find a step-by-step explanation on how to make a fine, working lapidary oven out of a pair of old oil or paint cans..

If you've ever wanted to master the techniques of wire wrapping as well as the related wire artistry skills , this completelynew and comprehensive multi-media program - written in Adobe's PDF format so that it can be viewed on PCs and Macs alike - will respond to any challenges you encounter.

Note: This tutorial program includes a nice selection of Ribbon Wire Jewelry Making components from which you make a number of customized jewelry creations that will accommodate ANY gemstone regardless of size, shape, weight or profile.

The three-part tutorial features video, sound, narration, animation and illustrated text as it takes you from beginner's basics, through intermediary steps and right on through the wire arts arena for experts. So huge is this program that it requires two jam-filled CD-ROM disks to hold it all. (We may substitute the two CD-ROM discs for a single DVD which is not for use on a TV DVD player: it works only with Adobe Reader in a computer.)

The program contains three major sections - beginning, advanced and Ribbon Wrapping - which you can run direct from the disk or copy to your hard drive and then harness the sections into a single tutorial. It's always recommended that you run programs heavily laden with multi-media events on your hard drive.

What's in this master's program? In Section One, you'll find an updated version of Wykoff's Master Wire Wrapping course - a tutorial intended for beginners in the art - that's already available as an individual program. For The Compleat Wire Artistry course, it's been revised and expanded. As for Section Two, this is a modified revision of the Advanced Wire Artistry course that's also available separately.

Section Three is brand new. It features the Ribbon Wrapping jewery making system - plus actual 14K GF and silver parts and findings) but also involves all sorts of advanced wire artistry conceits - Egyptian and Peruvian spirals, coil techniques including the over-double coiling effects, jig work. Furthermore, this new program contains a number of articles that show you how to make cheaply and easily various wire working tools that usually will cost you more than this program's auction price.

Created so wire artistry students would have a complete tutorial in one place, The Compleat program not only offers comprehensive instructions for the beginner without experience but also takes you into such unique subject areas as

• sweat soldering of faceted gem mountings (to really dress up your wire wrapped designs),

• coil making (instructions how to make these simple, helpful and inexpensive tools) that open up classical Egyptian and Peruvian design motifs,

• wire bending

• wire sculpting (it's a bit of a stretch but the technique offers interesting new artistic heights to challenge your imagination):

• polishing finished work,

• instructions on making a coiling tool

• techniques for twisting multi wire coils into color and texture related ropes, strands, bands, etc.

• the art of the pendant bail and how to make variations of same

• tactics in making single wire jewelry pieces

• instructions on how to make a tool to produce springs, coils and jump rings

• instructions and drawing son how to make a coil maker out of fender washers

• animated instructions on how to use a wire twisting jig to best advance - and how to make your own inexpensive jig(s)

• how to wrap one coil spring around another to make artistic 2-tone 2-color wire conceits

• this isn't a bead stringing tutorial but you'll even find some new and unique techniques for utilizing the various bead findings to create special jewelry effects

• basic foundation designs for Pharoah cab and prong rings (including a whole section on creating various prong conceits that allows you to wire wrap faceted stones effectively,

• the new Helix ear ring designs (yes, they're unique and lovely and, no, they don't resemble traditional ear rings in any way),

• making templates so you're assured of multi wrap consistency,

• optional techniques of twisting single wires (you'll be surprised at how effective - and inexpensive - it is to make a twisting tool). There's more.

One great advantage of this new program being done in Adobe's PDF format consists of the opportunity to print out the contents of the wire wrapping program book so you can have a hard copy available for immediate reference. Other improvements involve a linking between chapter/section titles and the actual content.
Compleat Wire Artistry Course - $49.95