Exploring new Avenues for Silver Design using Argentium Sterling Silver and Laser Welding

The aim of this project is to develop new avenues for contemporary silver design in the light of new opportunities arising from the combined use of Argentium Sterling Silver (AS) and laser welding. AS is a new silver alloy, which was developed to combat an oxidation process called 'fire scale', which occurs when standard Sterling Silver (SS) is heated during the fabrication process. Fire scale appears as bluish-grey stains in the surface of SS and is difficult to remove. AS has been recognised for being firescale-free but also for other advantages.

This proposal has arisen from an initial exploration by Niedderer (Niedderer, Harrison & Johns 2006), which tested the performance of AS in the context of practice, and which suggested that the combined use of AS with new technologies could offer potential for new developments in silver design. One such technology is laser welding, which can be used successfully with AS but not with SS due to differences in material properties.

The benefit of laser welding is in minimal heat application which allows the use of thin, flexible, work-hardened material. In contrast, traditional soldering requires heating the whole piece during fabrication, softening the silver. Any design using soldering therefore has to use sheet material of sufficient thickness to avoid easy indentation within use, commonly ranging between 0.8-1.5mm (e.g. works by Michael Rowe, Simone Ten Hompel, Alessi Tea & Coffee Towers). This makes silverware expensive and puts a range of constraints on the design and production of silverware, because pieces made of thinner material may distort during heating, need to be work-hardened after the last soldering stage, or need to be filled with supporting material (pitch).

This project proposes to investigate the combined use of AS and laser welding for developing new avenues in silver design. The focus will be on the use of thin, hard rolled sheet material using laser welding in the design and production of hollowware. The research will be conducted through creative practice set within a robust historical/theoretical framework. The framework will be developed from a comparison of the characteristics of 20th/21st Century examples of silver design, which will be selected and analysed according to criteria of technological, conceptual, and aesthetic developments. The comparison will identify the technological and conceptual conditions under which a design is considered to be 'contemporary' and 'advanced' in its time, thus providing a framework for 'new avenues' that will inform, guide and be used to validate the directions chosen in the practical inquiry.

The practical inquiry will explore the relationship of fabrication methods, and of aesthetic and conceptual expression. Creative practice and technical experimentation will be used to identify and explore different ways of joining AS through laser welding and to analyse the aesthetic results and expression. The results will be compared with insights gained from the theoretical inquiry in order to develop new avenues. A number of ideas will be realised to test and demonstrate both process and results. The project will conclude with an evaluation of the outcomes of the practice phase against the criteria developed in the theoretical framework.

The outcomes of the project will comprise a review of the development of 20th/21st Century silver design with regard to technical and aesthetic/conceptual advancements. It will generate an understanding of how to bring about new developments in silver design based on the relation of technical advance and conceptual/aesthetic concerns and produce recommendations for, and examples of, new avenues for silver design through the combined use of AS and laser welding. The outcomes will be published through conference and journal papers, and through exhibition of the practice work, including research process, designs, and contextual materials, at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.