apprentices is never hindered. "My master Josef Kasapoğlu from Diyarbakir put me into this job. And he did right indeed. Josef Usta was a customer of my dad who was a taxi driver then. Take my kid" he said to him. And since then I fell so much in love with this craft that I don't think I can do another job at all."
This is what Vahit Usta says but from the other masters we learn his other affections. He's a musician; he plays the guitar. He gave concerts at Büyükada this summer. When I tell him I've found out about his other passion he picks up the golden mount piece and with his other hand he picks up the welding equipment and gets back to his job. He quips:"Let's not set a bad example to the apprentices."
Sometimes even forgetting to eat with the spell of their work, I

leave the Sadekarcılar with their jobs and leave for next station. This is a place where the mastery of jewelry reaches its peak, where the value of the jewel is doubled, the Mıhlayıcilar.
Mıhlayıcılar are a bit different. They don't speak a lot and prefer to keep silent. This is what their famous for in the Grand Bazaar. I'm only telling you what I've heard. So, what does the mihlamak or inlaying mean? But first I have to explain you something.
The mount cleaned from burrs and prepared at the Sadekarcılar comes in front of the inlaying masters without precious stones. They are the ones who put the gems on the mount, to put it in other words to dress the jewelry. Most of the masters have gone to Los Angeles, America, where their work is highly praised. These days their numbers are getting less and they feel they are very important; I suppose thats why they are a bit capricious. They have the right to act so I suppose.
Just watching a master set the brilliant on the golden mount is enough to give to appreciate their skills. Magnifiers and spaces as small as the hole of a needle and brilliants as small as the tip of a needle. One, two, three.

Yes, Artin usta, has the right to keep us waiting and not to speak about his business. This is the best way to explain his profession he thinks. "Wise people will understand." he says. Find a valuable piece of jewelry and take a look at the gems. Those stones, even the ones that you can hardly see are set there by the inlaying masters. The tradesmen at the Grand Bazaar who are in the jewelry business say that an inlaying master can make even a

tiny stone look marvelous."
How much money they earn, not many know. The gold dust that drops off when opening a space on the mount to place the gem in is theirs. Don't think it's just dust, this comes up to eight or seven kilos in a year. God bless them. They deserve anything. I just want to say this last thing: The most mystical part of this jewelry business is the counter of the inlaying masters. It's magical to watch them set the gems.
Now the golden montür is set with diamonds.
So, who shapes those diamonds, rubies, brilliants, sapphires?
The masters of this job are generally foreigners, mostly in Israel and Russia. According to those who know this business, the most famous jewelry masters came from Russia. But in these days they are hard to find. Where were we? Oh yes, our golden mount is now set with diamonds; it looks very attractive but the work isn't over yet. Now we need a polish. They are called the Cilacılar or the polishers. Yes, that's done too and our diamond ring is now shining. Now it has to be placed in a showcase and wait for its customer.
Our journey has now come to an end. From now on if you get a valuable jewelry, before wearing it take a close look at it. Think about the work it took and carry it with care. The sweat that has gone into it deserves your extreme care.

First our earth cooled down, then our ape ancestors stood up and started walking and from that day onwards the desire of human beings to doll themselves up has carried on till today without any interruption. Just lean back and imagine the ancient times; imagine the way they dressed up; think of all the jewelry you have seen at the museums; there is no exaggeration in my words, is there?.
Jewelry, things that we wear to make ourselves more attractive, are old as our existence. Until the 19th Century men and women were rivals in using pieces of jewelry but after the Industrial Revolution jewelry became dominantly female and rich pieces became an instrument of showing off for the rich.
What renders a brooch, a necklace or a ring valuable? The easiest answer is: it is the precious minerals such as gold, platinum or silver on which precious stones are mounted and those stones themselves. The most precious gems are listed as; diamond, brilliant, sapphire, emerald and ruby. Then comes the second rate gems, like aquamarine, ametist and topaz. But what really makes a necklace or a ring valuable is the creativity and the mastery in it's making. It is just like a painting or a statue. Now let's take a little journey to see how and who by these pieces turn into dazzling and brilliant pieces of jewelry.
Of course our first stop is the mine pits where pure gold or silver is brought out. For hundred of years gold and silver has been mined by human labor and it still is. The black South African workers in the gold mines used to sing songs while working to make this hard toil come easier. Eventually these songs formed the first notes of the music which today is called jazz. Take a look at this golden bracelet with affection; maybe you will hear a little black girl who has lost her father in a mine slide singing. Don't say no, it could happen.
A lot of people died in the gold and silver mines. What rises the value of precious metals and stones in away are these deaths. Either way, people have shown an unbelievable stubbornness in mining these gems and today's stock of gold and gems where thus formed. But of what use are gold and gems if they don't adorn necks, fingers, wrists and arms? If the Queen of England didn't have a diamond crown she wouldn't look like a queen at all. What about the golden necklaces of Cleopatra, which is said to be at least twenty kilos.
To cut it short my dear friends, somebody had to treat the gold, somebody had to adorn the gems and present it to us; thus the art of jewelry which is on the thin line between art and labor was born. Let's move on:
People who have put their heart in this profession say that creativity starts with imagining. This means that some has to make gem designs so that gold, diamond or ruby could dance together or match each other in perfect harmony. Those designers of earlier times were also the makers of the jewelry. But with the 19th century division of labor has dominated the industry.
Where the be educated or self taught these days designers only do the designing. Then it comes to the molders and to the ones who prepare the metal for mounting of the jewelry. These people are called Sadekar. Of course first comes the molders. Like Mehmet Usta. Even though he is a master he's only 24 years old but his been doing this job since the age of 12. Let himself explain what he does:
"A jewelry drawn by a designer or chosen from a catalogue first comes to us. Me and my other molder friends' job is to shape the mold of the model for gold or silver. We give a

water of life to the drawing done by the designers. Naturally we use magnifiers because this work tires the eyes. We have to treat the model of gold and silver very delicately. We have to do it carefully so it matches their demand. Think of piece of jewelry like a building, a building is bought first by checking out it's foundations."
Yes, a new design of jewelry finds its first light of life in the hands of master molder but this isn't the

end. Before a piece of jewelry was only produced once. But now they are all mass produced. That is why you have to make the mold of a jewelry. We are now moving on to the second phase, to the foundry.
At all the foundries there is the same smell in the air: the smell of wax and smell of rubber. Everywhere is covered with plaster. In one of those workshops Erhan Köz, or rather Erhan Usta (usta meaning master) who is soon going put on his own sculpture exhibition, tries to explain this complicated craft as if I am a school child. He says this is to help me explain to you in plain terms.
He confesses: "It's impossible to understand the order of this procedure in one go. "Now I'm going to try and do the impossible thing for you." Erhan Usta then shows the golden mount which the molder has made.
"Now," he starts "With a wax specially made for this job we make a copy of this golden or silver mount. Then with the help of a gadget we place this wax copy into rubber pieces. Why? Because throughout the process the wax copy will melt. So we would have to make a new wax each and every time. This would take a lot of time. This rubber mold helps us to make wax mount's copies faster. Later we cover the wax mount with plaster and we stone it in a machine at 780 degrees centigrade. At this point the wax melts leaving the shape out. Then we spill the mineral which is melted at 1100 degrees centigrade into these shapes left by the melted wax. This way things become faster.
Dear readers, it's really a complicated process; now I'll going expand if I can. Where shall I see it? Erhan Usta promised me to show at his own workshop. After that, I'll try and explain this complicated process one more time. It's really hard to understand unless you do it yourself." "Since how long have you been doing this business?" I ask Erhan Usta. "For eighteen years, since my childhood." he says. He says he is a self taught man, but he admits that he had lessons from the late painter Özer Kabaş whom we both like. "You can't do this if you don't have a heart for it." he says, then quickly opens a cupboard and shows me his statues made out of wax. These are going to be plastered like the jewelry, then the spaces left by the melted wax is going to be filled with gold. They are all going to be tiny golden statuettes. One of them is sold already.
The shaping in mold is over, we're back in the workshop where the Sadekars are. Now the process of cleaning and mounting of pieces of gold and silver starts. Because the mounts come in pieces, they need to be put together and need to be welded. And no matter how carefully you do it you have to clean up the burr. It's a heavy burden on the eyes. Even a little mistake isn't acceptable.
The masters, their assistants and apprentices of the sadekar all sit together. In front of them are leather aprons that stops any gold particle from disappearing, because the golden mount is given to the craftsmen in weight. Only a10 per cent loss is tolerable. Finished clear of burrs the mounts are weighed again after this process to ensure any losses.
Vahit Usta speaks for everybody here, where the relationship between the masters and