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Thanks! I always assumed it was cheap as the earings cost peanuts on ebay. I'll hit some metal workshops for quotes. The stuff that I'm after isn't that complex and could be made with hydraulic press.
pit-
I always assumed it was cheap as the earings cost peanuts on ebay
Compared with precious metal, stainless steel is cheap, so you can make cheap shiny things from it if you tool up for mass production. Hand worked one-offs are a different matter.
It's always a balancing act with material cost and manufacturing cost, if you want something bulky but of simple form then stainless steel or even aluminium could be cheapest.
gbj_tester
Does not compute. Stainless steel isn't cheap to buy, but more importantly it's hard work for jewellers, so the extra cost of making in SS exceeds the saving on material compared with easier to work bases such as copper or common alloys of copper/zinc/tin such as pewter, brass and bronze.