Carlos Montanaro

My work is a blend of hand-fabricated & altered, recycled componentry. I utilize many jewelry bench techniques including: soldering, sawing, piercing, filing, sanding, engraving, etching, lost wax casting, riveting, various cold connections, chain-making, as well as several types of patinas & hand-finishing techniques in my creative process. I also like to build my own tube settings for 5mm stones and repurposed watch crowns. I use 12 to 18-gauge brass & silver plates, which I engrave into. After engraving, I saw the designs out with a jewelry piercing saw. This is the basis for a lot of the component building that I am doing. I also use the process of lost wax casting. Instead of starting with a wax original, I hand-fabricate my originals out of metal first and then mold/cast them from there. Most of the pieces I am creating are put together with cold connections such as riveting and micro-screws that are riveted, etc. I hope this gives you a better understanding of my process.