From time to time under the Local News section we will bring you different features about life in Kalkan.  Here is our fourth article in a short series we are doing called Hand Made in Kalkan.

This time we take a look at jewellery that is made in Kalkan.  We spent some time at Black Sea Silver, located just below Doy Doy restaurant. 

Around 60% of the jewellery on sale in the shop is hand made, here in Kalkan.

Ahmet and Songül Beğen, and their son Mehmet Akif Beğen own and run the Black Sea Silver jewellery shop in Kalkan.  Given that they are originally from Trabzon, on the Black Sea coast, and they sell mostly silver jewellery, it's an appropriate name for their shop.  

A key part of the Black Sea Silver team is craftsman Sezai Eken, (pictured below), who has been making jewellery for 14 years.  They call him the Silver Doctor and you can often see him working in the workshop, in a corner of the shop.  Sezai also has his own shop in Kaş, Eken Silver, where his wife works.



The Beğen family moved from the Black Sea coast 18 years ago.  Ahmet by trade is an engineer, and his wife Songül designs and makes jewellery.  They have been in the jewellery business for many years, and moved to their current town centre location in 2004.

It seems simple doesn't it.  Take your silver, add some precious or semi-precious stones, come up with a design, and make it.  Here is how it works.

Sourcing materials
Mehmet told KTLN that they buy their silver from Istanbul.  The Istanbul Gold Exchange (Istanbul Altın Borsası) deals in other precious metals as well as gold.  Much of the silver traded there comes from Mexico.  Five years ago silver was about US$7 per ounce.  Now it is US$13 per ounce.  

As silver is traded in US$, and Black Sea Silver customers pay in Turkish lira, movements in the exchange rate have an impact on the business.  In the past twelve months the US$:TRY exchange rate has moved from 1.22 to 1.55 - which means the dollar has strengthened 27%, which in turn means they pay more for their silver.

They source their stones from Istanbul and also Ankara, but of course they come from all over the world.  The two most popular stones are lapis lazuli, which comes from Afghanistan, and turquoise, from Arizona in the USA (a by-product of copper mining).

Design
Songül and Sezai have many years of design experience between them.  From the more traditional Ottoman designs to the more modern, contemporary pieces, they are able to provide lots of choice.  All types of jewellery are made - necklaces, bracelets, brooches and rings.  For the more traditional designs, no plans are required as Sezai has them in his head.  

With more modern designs Songül will have an outline on paper to work from.  This is particularly the case where a customer comes in with an idea for a piece of jewellery, and then of course the design has to be documented.

Transforming the raw materials
Silver comes in all sorts of forms - pieces (i.e. lumps of silver), thin strips or wire.  Sezai will use whichever is most appropriate for the article being made.  Pure silver is rarely used as it is too soft.  They use 925 grade silver, which is high quality and hardwearing.  This means 925/1,000 parts of silver.

To manipulate the silver into the desired shape it has to be heated.  The melting point of silver is 961c - a bit warmer than your poolside temperature in mid-August.  Sezai uses a gas blow torch to heat the metal, and to ensure smooth joints he uses flux and silver solder.

Once the desired shape has been achieved the piece has to be cleaned.  This can be done using a sulphuric acid solution to remove blemishes, with a final shine achieved by using a polishing machine.  The colour of the silver can be subtly changed using something called siyanür.  When completed, Sezai applies a stamp - all genuine silver jewellery should be hallmarked.

Where stones are to be used in the piece of jewellery, they have to be prepared - cut, polished and maybe drilled if a hole is required for the thread of a necklace or bracelet.  Sezai has all the appropriate tools within reach.

Typically, it may take one day to make a necklace and a matching bracelet.  The photograph that we show below is of a particularly complex piece of jewellery.  The necklace took 15 days to make and the bracelet 3 days.

Black Sea Silver: Phone 0242 844 1348