Sunday, January 3, 2010

That's a lot of PMC


I started getting really busy right before Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd keep track of how much PMC I used through Christmas. I prefer the 25 gram packs, I find that even though I go through them quickly, I like having totally fresh clay more often than with the 50 gram packs. The easiest way to keep track of it was to toss the empty packs into my bench drawer. I counted them up and I used up 45 packs, or 1125 grams which is about 2.5 pounds of silver! For those that have never worked with metal clay, here's the 25 gram lump still wrapped up:



It's not much, is it? Well, this little lump of pure silver in an organic binder retails for $41.25 at the moment. Fortunately wholesale pricing is available to those of us in business, but it is still quite expensive. Everyone who works with precious metals is hoping for the prices to come down this year. I remember way back in the 90's when we all freaked out when silver hit $4 an ounce - it's currently at $17!

7 comments:

Marie said...

It is amazing how much it's gone up. Can't wait to see what you creat in 2010.
Marie @ Lemondrop ViNtAge

Zoe Nelson said...

Awhile ago I calculated that two 25 gram packs were a little cheaper than a 50 gram pack. Don't know if that's still true or not, but I agree with you about the freshness.

Shelly's Stuff said...

Learning to work with PMC is on my list for 2010. Just not sure how I'm going to find the time!

Anonymous said...

Heard a commentator on CNN yesterday say that it takes over a ton of silver to make a solar something or other. Yes, I was stuck on the word "ton" so the rest didn't sink in. Because of demand in the tech world and manufacturing, they are predicting that silver will become a scarce commodity and reach the $24 range in 2011.

Great news huh?

-Tonya
www.wholelottawhimsy.com
www.tonyadavidson.com

Mae Chevrette said...

This is really interesting... I had NO idea silver cost so much or came in little packages like that :)

Anonymous said...

Gulp...

Zoulvisia said...

Im so amazing at how little comes in a 25 gram packet! I was just about to buy some for $90 (cheapist I can get in New Zealand)and then I found this picture... This sucks becaus Im soooooo desparate to try it but Im running abit low on money so I'll have to wait for another day...Sigh. Thanks for the pictures :D