Precious Metal Clay (PMC) was developed by the Mitsubishi Corporation in the early 1990’s in an effort to recycle their precious metals. PMC comes in 2 types, Fine Silver & 22K Gold. It is composed of microscopic metal particles, a nontoxic organic binder and water.

In it’s raw form, PMC resembles clay and can be manipulated just like any other clay. In fact, it comes in 4 different forms: lump clay, loaded in a syringe, as a paste, and in a thin sheet which feels like rubber. Each form is created by altering the ratio of metal, binder and water.

So how in the world does something clay-like become solid metal??? After creating an object with the clay, the object must dry out completely. During this process the water in the clay evaporates leaving only metal particles and organic binder. Once the piece is completely dry it must be fired either in a kiln or with a torch. This is called the sintering process. During sintering, the organic binder burns away and the remaining metal particles fuse together. The end result is a solid metal object!

After firing, the silver must be polished to reveal the silver color and shine. Polishing can be done in a variety of ways using simple burnishing tools, rotary buffing wheels and/or a rotary tumbler.

Precious Metal Clay is pure silver with no other metals included, unlike Sterling Silver which contains copper or nickel. PMC is considered Fine Silver and is marked as .999 FS (99.9% Fine Silver).

As a metal, PMC can be worked with traditional metal and silversmithing techniques which makes its versatility as an art medium ideal. PMC can be combined with other materials such as glass, gemstones, copper, brass, ceramics, sterling silver, polymer clay, gold, paper, resins and on and on...the only limits are your imagination.

Rare Adornment offers a variety of options for learning how to work with Precious Metal Clay. You can learn in a classroom environment, at home or one-on-one in our studio. Once you’ve created an object from PMC, we guarantee you will become hooked!

At Rare Adornment we make it easy to get started working at home by offering educational materials, tools, equipment and materials through our Online Store as well as in the classroom. Please visit our Class Schedule and Service Menu pages for descriptions of classes and options for learning on YOUR schedule.