The 2018 Portland Jewelry Symposium Is ‘Keeping It Real’

Portland, Ore.—Portland Jewelry Symposium organizers have announced the details for their 11th annual event, which is scheduled to take place next month.

Slated for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, the theme of the conference is “Craft Meets Technology: Keeping it Real in a Digital World.”

As in years past, the conference will begin on Sunday evening with a dinner and keynote address. JCK’s Rob Bates will deliver this year’s keynote, commenting on the ways technology is changing the jewelry industry overall.

Monday will feature a plethora of speakers, panel presentations and bench demonstrations.

Topics addressed will run the gamut from high-tech casting methods to digital marketing.

Professor Anne-Marie Carey of Birmingham City University will speak about her joint project with the Museum of London, creating digital reproductions of 17th century artifacts from the Cheapside Hoard, the famed discovery of more than 400 pieces of fine jewelry in 1912 that had been buried in a cellar in London for hundreds of years.

Carey will comment on the role of technology in preservation and the latest methodologies.

The symposium’s panels will feature metallurgists and 3-D resin casting experts, and Ann Cahoon of the North Bennett Street School will lead bench demonstrations, sponsored by Rio Grande. Question-and-answer sessions will follow the panels.

The full list of programming, and further information, is available on the symposium website.