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A silversmith is a person who works primarily with silver. Unlike blacksmiths, silversmiths do not shape the metal while it is red-hot but instead, work it at room temperature with gentle and carefully placed hammerblows. The essence of silversmithing is to take a flat piece of metal and by means of different hammers, stakes and other simple tools, to transform it into an useful object.

While silversmiths specialize in, and principally work, silver, they also work with other metals such as gold, copper, steel, and brass. They make jewellery, silverware, armour, vases, and other artistic items. Because silver is such a malleable metal, silversmiths have a large range of choices with how they prefer to work the metal. Historically, silversmiths are mostly referred to as goldsmiths, which was usually the same guild.

Silver is cheaper than gold, though still valuable, and so is very popular with jewellers who are just starting out and cannot afford to make pieces in gold, or as a practicing material for goldsmith apprentices. Silver has also become very fashionable, and is used frequently in more artistic jewellery pieces.

There are several different types of silversmiths: Some are involved in the fabrication of the metals, where items are typically cut and then constructed with differing connections, such as soldering or riveting. Others work in wax and then cast their pieces using a process called lost wax casting, where the wax original is evaporated in a burn-out process in a kiln. There are silversmiths who specialize in forging and forming, producing pieces that are typically made from a single piece of metal that has been hammered or formed under the pressure of percussion or squeezing from a press, such as a hydraulic press. There are silversmiths who only make jewelery and there are silversmiths who only make utensils.

Traditionally a Silversmith gets its name from the production of "silverware" (cutlery, bowls, plates, cups, candlesticks and such). Only in more recent times has a silversmith expanded to work on jewellery, due to the similarity in techniques.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver 

Handmade jewelry is jewelry which has been assembled and formed by hand rather than through the use of machines. According to the guidelines of the FTC, in order to be stamped or called "handmade" the work must be made solely by hand power or hand guidance [1] In essence, this means that jewelry may be made using drills, lathes, and other machinery, but it must be guided by human hand. This precludes the use of punch presses and CNC machinery, to name a few processes that would not qualify as "handmade". Beyond that caveat it can be anything made out of anything that would be considered jewelry. The American Gem Trade Association Spectrum awards[2] , the Gem Center Idar Oberstein, and the De Beers Awards include awards specifically for handmade jewelry.

Although there is much mass produced jewelry in the world, there are many people who prefer to have work that is hand-crafted by a real artisan, and the arena of hand made jewelry and other items will likely remain healthy because of that fact. Much jewelry that is marked or sold as "hand made" often is not truly so, though it may be essentially so.

thanks :: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewellery_making 

The activities are designed to encourage students to consider body adornment in broader terms than jewellery and fashion, and to think about related social and cultural issues. Each activity includes suggestions on preparing a visit, activities to do at the V&A, and ways to follow up back at school.

The Jewellery gallery is currently closed as part of FuturePlan, the V&A's major redevelopment project, and it will reopen in 2009. However, there are many fine examples of jewellery in the other galleries.  This resource focuses particularly on the British Galleries (Rooms 52-58 and 118-125) and the South Asia gallery (Room 41).