T’BOLI, SOUTH COTABATO — Some sixteen (16) members of the T’boli Jewelers Association (TJA) are currently undergoing training on Jewelry Designing, Alloy Mixing and Basic Stone Setting here with the assistance of professional jewelry makers.
Cecille Ramos, Chairwoman of Meycauayan Jewelers Association of Bulacan province and Mike Rodriguez, a noted jeweler/craftsman of the same place spearheaded the 10-day training which will culminate on November 15.
Ramos will train participants about Jewelry Designing and Alloy Mixing, which is Part I of the course training and will run for 3 days. It aims to capacitate the participants to produce designs for making unique jewelry, drawing on styles which are popular in the Philippines, Asia and Europe, using domestically available materials.
Topics of the 3-day training include Introduction to Jewelry Design, Jewelry Design Initial Inspiration, Raw Materials for Jewelry, Basic Sketching, Developing the Design, Copying, Workshop, What to Know from your Client when Designing Jewelry for them, Jewelries of Different Countries, Gold and Silver Purity and Content, and Alloying.
Likewise, Basic Stone Setting training which will be personally handled by Rodriguez, aims to impart appropriate skills on basic stone setting techniques ranging from simple bezel and prong settings to bright cut and pave settings. The training will run for 7 days.
In an interview, Ramos disclosed that the participants have the potential to improve their jewelry-making craft and encouraged them to design what is uniquely T’boli to produce their own identity in designing their jewelries.
The capacity-building training is jointly sponsored by T’boli LGU, provincial government of South Cotabato and the Department of Trade and Industry.
