Inside the kiln, the silver never becomes liquid -- that would require another 100?C. Instead, the tiny silver crystals fuse together naturally. According to the Society of American Silversmiths' Web site on PMC, "under the proper conditions, crystals of metal fuse together in the same way that droplets of water run together to make larger puddles on the window pane."
This doesn't happen with most metals due to a coating of oxide or rust. Thus only precious, non-oxidizing metals can be manipulated in this way. Even sterling silver, which is 92.5 percent silver and the rest copper, would oxidize at such high temperatures and fail to fuse. Objects produced with De Color's silver clay are 99.99 percent silver. Pure gold clay also exists, but is less common because of the expense.
When the shell emerges from the kiln it is white and glowing orange a bit around the edges. Slightly smaller than when it went in, the object now clinks brightly when dropped onto Chang's metal worktable. The full extent of the transformation becomes clear when the shell is polished with a metal brush and the familiar gleam of silver is revealed. A loop for the chain is attached to the back using a blowtorch and the shell becomes a necklace.
Customers who venture into De Color on Danshui's old street can opt for a one-time DIY for NT$500 plus the cost of materials (a 20g packet of silver clay is NT$700), or a long-term course for NT$12,900. The former usually tend to walk away with simple pendants. The latter, however, learn to create rings, chains or pretty much whatever they want.
Some former students have gone off to open their own workshops, which are listed on De Color's Web site.
The shop is at 160 Zhongzheng Rd, Danshui, Taipei County
(台北縣淡水鎮中正路160號).
De Color's phone number is (02) 8631 0011 and the Web site is www.silverclay.com.tw.
For more information on PMC, visit www.silversmithing.com/1clay.htm.
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