PRODUCTION OF METALLIC BEADS

Abstract

A method of forming a metallic bead includes forming a metallic cylinder including a closed lower end and an open upper end in an aperture in a die by pressing a metallic sheet into the aperture in the die and swaging the open upper end of the metallic cylinder to form a swaged upper end by applying a concave lower surface of a punch to the open upper end of the metallic cylinder.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] 1. Field of Disclosure Aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure are directed generally to the production of metallic beads which may be used in, for example, jewelry.

[0002] 2. Discussion of Related Art

[0003] Beads of precious metals, for example, gold, silver, or platinum, may be used to form beaded jewelry. Beaded jewelry typically includes one or more beads strung on an elongated slender support, for example, a chain or wire, to form a necklace, pendant, earring, or other form of jewelry.

SUMMARY

[0004] In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of producing a metallic bead. The method comprises forming a metallic cylinder including a closed lower end and an open upper end in an aperture in a die by pressing a pierced metallic sheet into the aperture in the die and swaging the open upper end of the metallic cylinder to form a swaged upper end by applying a concave lower surface of a first punch to the open upper end of the metallic cylinder.

[0005] In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming an aperture in the closed lower end of the metallic cylinder while the metallic cylinder is present in the aperture in the die.

[0006] In some embodiments, the method further comprises thinning the metallic sheet to a thickness substantially similar to a wall thickness of the metallic bead prior to pressing the metallic sheet into the aperture in the die.

[0007] In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming the metallic sheet by rolling a starting material stack including a precious metal bonded to a base metal having a strength greater than the precious metal. Producing the metallic bead may comprise producing a gold filled bead.

[0008] In some embodiments, forming the metallic cylinder comprises forming the closed lower end with into a substantially hemispherical shape. Pressing the metallic sheet into the aperture in the die may comprise pressing the metallic sheet into the aperture in the die with a convex lower end of a second punch.

[0009] In some embodiments, forming the swaged upper end comprises forming the swaged upper end with a substantially hemispherical shape.

[0010] In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming an aperture in the swaged upper end.

[0011] In some embodiments, producing the metallic bead comprises producing a to substantially spherical metallic bead.

[0012] In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a method of producing a jewelry item. The method comprises forming a metallic cylinder having a closed lower end by punching a portion of a metallic sheet into an aperture in a die, the aperture having a concave lower surface, and swaging an upper end of the metallic cylinder by applying a first punch to the upper end of the metallic cylinder.

[0013] In some embodiments, punching a portion of a metallic sheet into the aperture in the die comprises applying a convex lower surface of a second punch to the metallic sheet.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming the metallic sheet by rolling a starting material stack including a precious metal bonded to a base metal having a strength greater than the precious metal.

[0015] In some embodiments, swaging the upper end of the metallic cylinder comprises substantially closing the upper end of the metallic cylinder. In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming an aperture in the upper end of the metallic cylinder while the metallic cylinder is disposed in the aperture in the die.

[0016] In some embodiments, swaging the upper end of the metallic cylinder comprises applying a concave lower surface of the first punch to the upper end of the metallic cylinder.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming an aperture in the closed lower end while the metallic cylinder is disposed in the aperture in the die.

[0018] In some embodiments, producing the jewelry item comprises producing a gold filled bead. Producing the jewelry item may comprise producing the gold filled bead with a substantially circular cross section. Producing the jewelry item may comprise producing the gold filled bead with a substantially spherical shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component to may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:

[0020] FIG. 1A is an elevational view of an embodiment of a gold bead;

[0021] FIG. 1B is a cross-section of the gold bead of FIG. 1A through line A-A;

[0022] FIG. 1C is a cross-section of an another embodiment of a gold bead;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an embodiment of a jewelry item including a plurality of gold beads;

[0024] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a conventional method of forming gold beads;

[0025] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a starting material stack for use in a method of forming gold beads;

[0026] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a method of rolling a metal sheet in a method of forming gold beads;

[0027] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a method of deep drawing a portion of a metal sheet in a method of forming gold beads;

[0028] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a method of hydraulic drawing a metal tube in a method of forming gold beads;

[0029] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of conventional method of forming gold beads from metal tube in a method of forming gold beads;

[0030] FIG. 9 is a flow chart of another method of forming gold beads;

[0031] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a method of drawing a portion of a metal sheet in the method of forming gold beads of FIG. 9;

[0032] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a method of punching an aperture in a portion of a cupped metal sheet in the method of forming gold beads of FIG. 9;

[0033] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a method swaging a cupped portion of a metal sheet in the method of forming gold beads of FIG. 9;

[0034] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a fully drawn and swaged portion of a metal sheet in the method of forming gold beads of FIG. 9; and

[0035] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the fully drawn and swaged portion of the metal sheet of FIG. 13 with an aperture formed in an upper portion thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.

[0037] Aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are generally directed to processes of forming metallic beads for use in jewelry and to jewelry items including metallic beads. The metallic beads may include one or more precious metals, for example, gold, silver, or platinum, however, for simplicity, the metallic beads will be referred to herein as gold beads. The skilled artisan will recognize that the methods described herein may be applicable to the formation of beads of various metals or combinations of metals and such beads may be used in applications other than jewelry. The present disclosure is intended to encompass beads formed of these other various metals or combinations of metals and metallic beads formed for any particular intended use.

[0038] An example of a gold bead 100 is illustrated in an elevational view in FIG. 1A and in a cross-sectional view through line A-A of FIG. 1A in FIG. 1B. The gold bead includes a body 105, which may be spherical or substantially spherical and which may define a pair of apertures 110. A chain, wire, or other support may be passed through the apertures 110 of the gold bead 100 to form a piece of jewelry, for example, a necklace, earring, bracelet, or other form of jewelry. Although indicated as being substantially spherical in FIGS. 1A and 1B gold beads in accordance with aspects and embodiments disclosed herein may also be elongated into a semi-cylindrical configuration as indicated generally as 100A in FIG. 1C or into a saucer shaped configuration or any other configuration desired. Aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to any particular shape or size of gold bead.

[0039] FIG. 2 illustrates a plurality of gold beads 100, which may be of the same size and/or shape or of different sizes and/or shapes mounted on a support 205, for example, a chain or wire, to form jewelry item 200, for example, a necklace, earring, bracelet, or other form of jewelry. Gold beads 100 as disclosed herein may have diameters of, for example, about 2.5 mm in diameter, about 3 mm in diameter, about 4 mm in diameter, about 5 mm in diameter, and/or up to about 10 mm in diameter. The to apertures 110 may be, for example, about 0.8 mm in diameter for a 3 mm diameter gold bead. The wall thickness of the gold bead may be about 0.25 mm These dimensions, however, are only examples. Aspects and embodiments of gold beads disclosed herein are not limited to any particular dimensions or shapes.

[0040] In some embodiments, gold beads formed in accordance with methods disclosed herein may include a thicker and/or mechanically stronger inner layer including, for example, copper or brass, to add strength and rigidity to an outer layer of gold. The inner layer may add additional strength to the bead as compared to beads formed of pure gold. These types of beads may be referred to as "gold filled beads" in the jewelry industry. For the sake of simplicity, the term "gold beads" shall be considered to encompass "gold filled beads" in the present disclosure.

[0041] One process for forming gold beads is illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 3, indicated generally at 300. Various operations in the method 300 are schematically illustrated in FIGS. 4-8.

[0042] In a first operation in the method 300, act 305 (mechanical bonding), a starting material stack 500 (FIG. 4) is formed. The starting material may include a sheet of gold 505 bonded to a sheet of a second material 510, for example, copper or brass. The second material 510 may be mechanically stiffer and/or stronger than the gold sheet 505 and may thus impart additional strength to the material stack 500 and to a final gold bead ultimately formed from the starting material stack 500. The sheet of gold 505 may be bonded to the second material 510 by a thermal bonding process to ensure a true metallurgical bond between the sheet of gold 505 and the sheet of the second material 510. In some embodiments, the starting material stack 500 (and/or a finished product of the method 300) may include 5% or more gold by weight. The starting material stack 500 may have a total thickness of about 4 cm, although the methods disclosed herein are not limited to utilizing a starting material stack of any particular thickness.

[0043] The starting material stack 500 is thinned down and cut into thinned sheets 650 of desired dimensions in acts of rolling 310 and shearing 315 using rollers 605 (FIG. 5) and cutters 610. The acts of rolling 310 and shearing 315 may be repeated until desired dimensions of the thinned sheets 650 are obtained. On or more acts of annealing may be included between successive acts of rolling.

[0044] In act 320, a disc 655 (FIG. 6) is cut from one of the thinned sheets 650 using a disc blanking process. The disc 655 may have a diameter slightly less, for example, about 10% less, than the width and/or length of the thinned sheet 650 so defects, for example, cracks on the perimeter of the thinned sheet, are not included in the disc 655.

[0045] The disc 655 is then deep drawn using, for example, a hydraulic press which uses a punch 660 to force the material of the disc 655 into an aperture in a die block 665. The resultant deep drawn article is a cylinder 670 having an open upper end 675 and a closed lower end 680. Hydraulic press act 325 may be repeated multiple times with successively wider punches 660 having successively less clearance from walls of the aperture in the die block 665 in which the cylinder 670 is disposed and/or with die blocks 665 having successively narrower apertures into which the cylinder 670 is pressed. The repeated hydraulic press acts 325 may increase the length of the cylinder 670 while decreasing its wall thickness until a desired length and/or wall thickness is achieved. The cylinder 670 may be annealed as desired to maintain ductility between successive hydraulic press acts 325.

[0046] When the cylinder 670 reaches a desired length and/or thickness by hydraulic pressing, acts 340 of hydraulic and/or mechanical drawing may be utilized to further lengthen and thin the cylinder 670. The closed end of the cylinder 670 may be cut off or punched through so that a mandrel 685 may be inserted into the cylinder 670 (now more properly referred to as a tube 690) during acts 340 of hydraulic and/or mechanical drawing to facilitate thinning of the tube 690 and to keep the tube 690 from undesirably deforming or collapsing during hydraulic and/or mechanical drawing. During hydraulic and/or mechanical drawing, the tube 690 may be forced through an aperture 695 in a die 700 (FIG. 7) to lengthen and thin the walls of the tube 690. Additionally or alternatively, the tube 690 may be drawn through dies with internal arbors to reduce the wall thickness and diameter of the tube 690. The tube may be hydraulically and/or mechanically drawn multiple times until a desired length and/or wall thickness is achieved. Acts of degreasing, annealing, and/or cutting to remove damaged end portions of the tube 690 may be performed between successive acts of hydraulic and/or mechanical drawing. In some embodiments, prior to drawing through a die, an end of the tube 690 may be swaged (act 335) to provide a reduced diameter end that may more easily fit through a die aperture than an unswaged end of the tube 690 so that the swaged end may be gripped and the tube 690 drawn through the die.

[0047] After the acts of hydraulic and/or mechanical drawing 340, the tube 690 has reached a thickness suitable for delivery to bead making process equipment (act 350). A final cutting act 345 may be performed before delivering the tube to the bead making process to reduce the length of the tube to a length suitable for equipment in a particular facility.

[0048] In the bead making process a bead making machine is used to form beads 100 from the tube 690. In the bead making machine, the tube 690 is rotated and advanced in steps through the bead making machine while successive groups of hammers 710 gradually neck the tube 690 at predetermined lengths along the tube 690. A final set of cutting hammers 715 cut beads 100 free from the end of the tube 690 (FIG. 8). Apertures 110 are formed in the beads 100 as the beads are cut from the end of the tube 690.

[0049] After individual beads 100 are formed in the bead making process, a series of finishing acts 360 may be performed. These acts may include annealing and an act of rolling 357 in which individual beads are rolled in a polished steel ring to polish the bead surface and remove imperfections, for example, burrs about the apertures 110.

[0050] The beads may be subject to a final degreasing act and/or a tub and shine act where the beads may be washed in a tub with soap and/or polishing media. After a final inspection act 365, the finished beads are sent to stock (act 370) to await use.

[0051] Method 300 suffers from several disadvantages. The method has a high degree of material loss. For example, in some implementations of method 300 the material included in the finished beads may be as low as about 30% of the total starting material. Sources of loss include borders of the thinned sheets 650 which are lost when the discs 655 are cut from the thinned sheets 650 and losses due to swaging of the ends of the tube 690 before the drawing acts 340 and removal of damaged end to portions of the tube 690 after the drawing acts 340. An approximate loss of about 5% may occur at the end of each bead during the actual beading process.

[0052] The method 300 produces gold beads which may have certain undesirable features. One such undesirable feature may include a substantial variation in thickness of the material in different regions of the gold bead. The necking process performed by the hammers of the bead making machine in the bead making process (See FIG. 8) causes necking in the material between individual beads, substantially reducing the thickness of the material in these areas. A finished bead produced according to method 300 may thus have regions proximate the apertures which is substantially thinner than material in portions of the bead distal from the apertures, for example, material in an equatorial region of the beads substantially equidistant from the apertures. The reduced thickness of the material proximate the apertures may render the gold beads weak at these areas and subject to deformation or tearing proximate the apertures.

[0053] The method 300 is also more expensive and time consuming than desired. Method 300 exhibits extended cycle time and labor costs due to the large number of operations. Method 300 also requires an undesirably high refining expense to recover gold from scrap.

[0054] An improved process for producing gold beads has been developed which does not suffer from the disadvantages of method 300, or at least exhibits these disadvantages to a lesser degree. An embodiment of this improved process is indicated in the flowchart of FIG. 9, indicated generally at 900. Various operations in method 900 are schematically illustrated in FIGS. 10-14.

[0055] Method 900 begins with a similar act as method 300, act 905 (corresponding to act 305 of method 300) of mechanically bonding a layer of gold 505 onto a layer of a base metal 510 utilizing a process that insures a true metallurgical bond between the layer of gold 505 and the layer of a base metal 510. After forming the starting material stack 500 (See FIG. 4), the starting material stack is rolled (act 910) and annealed (act 915). Acts 910 and 915 may be repeated until the starting material stack 500 is reduced in thickness by a desired degree. The rolling process of method 900, including acts 910 and 915, differs from the rolling act 310 of method 300, however, because the rolling process of method 900 reduces the thickness of the starting material stack 500 to form metal sheet having a thickness substantially similar, for example, to within about 15% or about 10% of a final wall thickness of metal beads produced by the process. In contrast, rolling act 310 of method 300 reduces the thickness of the starting material stack 500 to form metal sheet having a thickness that may be substantially greater than a final wall thickness of metal beads produced by the process, for example, about an order of magnitude greater than the final wall thickness of metal beads produced by the process. Method 300 relies on the subsequent hydraulic and/or mechanical drawing acts 340 to reduce the thickness of the tube 690 to a thickness substantially similar to portions of the final metal beads cut from the tube 690 during the final bead making process where individual beads are cut from the tube 690.

[0056] In act 920 metal sheeting produced by the rolling and annealing acts 910, 915 is slit to a desired width. Slitting of the metal sheeting in act 920 may remove edge portions of the metal sheet which may include defects, for example, cracks or tears. The slit width is dependent on the size of bead being produced. Scrap generated during the slit operation may be limited to about 10% or less. Subsequent to slitting in act 920, the metal sheet in delivered to the beading process (act 925) of method 900. The metal sheet may be provided as a long continuous metal sheet rolled into a spool to form a coil having dimensions appropriate for downstream bead forming equipment and/or to what is practical for handling and moving of the coil.

[0057] The beading process of method 900 differs from that of method 300. In act 930 of the beading process of method 900, sheet metal 1005 is drawn into an aperture 1010 of a die 1015 with a punch 1020. The aperture 1010 of the die 1015 may have a diameter substantially similar or the same as an outer diameter of a final metal bead to be formed in the process. There is no need to form a column from the metal sheet in the die 1015 which is subsequently lengthened by a series of additional hydraulic press and/or hydraulic and/or mechanical draw operations as in method 300 because the metal sheet pressed into the die 1015 in method 900 already has a thickness substantially similar to a wall thickness of a final metal bead to be produced by the to method.

[0058] As illustrated in FIG. 10, the aperture 1010 of the die 1015 may have a rounded lower end 1025 having a radius of curvature matching or substantially matching that of an outer surface of a final gold bead to be formed in the process. The aperture 1010 of the die 1015 may have a concave lower end, for example, a substantially hemispherical lower end. The punch 1020 may have a convex lower end 1030 with a curvature substantially similar to that of the lower end 1025 of the column 1010 of the die 1015. Act 930 results in the formation of a drawn cylinder 1035 having an open upper end 1040 and a closed lower end 1045 in the aperture 1010 of the die 1015. The closed lower end 1045 may have a curved or substantially hemispherical shape. The open upper end 1040 may extend upward from an upper surface of the die 1015.

[0059] The closed lower end 1045 of the cylinder 1035 may be pierced with a punch 1050 (or alternatively, drilled) while in the die 1015 to form an aperture 1010 in the closed lower end 1045 of the cylinder 1035 (FIG. 11). The aperture 1010 may be substantially centered in the closed lower end 1045 of the cylinder 1035.

[0060] The cylinder 1035 is then swaged (act 935) by applying a hydraulic punch 1055 with a concave lower surface 1060 to the upper end 1040 of the cylinder 1035 to at least partially close or to completely close the upper end 1040 of the cylinder 1035 (FIG. 12). A series of hydraulic punches 1055 with lower surfaces having different degrees of concavity may be applied to the cylinder 1035 until the upper end 1040 is substantially closed (FIG. 13). An aperture 1010 may be punched or drilled into the upper end 1040 of the cylinder 1035 to form a gold bead 100 (FIG. 14). The aperture 101 may be substantially centered in the upper end 1040 of the cylinder 1035. In other embodiments, the aperture 101 is not punched or drilled into the upper end 1040 of the cylinder 1035, but rather, hydraulic punches 1055 are applied to the upper end 1040 of the cylinder 1035 until the sidewalls of the cylinder 1035 close to a desired degree defining aperture 101.

[0061] The gold bead 100 in the die 1015 in FIG. 14 is illustrated as being oval shaped, but as discussed above, in different embodiments gold beads which are substantially spherical, saucer-shaped, or having other desired shapes may be formed to by utilizing different tooling, for example, differently sized and shaped die 1015 and punches 1055. For example, for gold beads having a lower height to width ratio than the gold bead 100 in the die 1015 in FIG. 14, a die 1015 having an aperture 1010 with a lower aspect ratio and/or punches 1020, 1055 with ends having lower curvatures than illustrated may be utilized. Further, gold beads having non-cylindrical cross sections, for example, substantially square, triangular, rectangular, or other cross sections maybe produced with appropriately shaped draw dies and swaging punches.

[0062] The formed gold bead 100 is then removed from the die 1015 and a series of finishing operations 945, for example, degreasing, annealing, rolling (act 940), tub and shining, and inspection (act 950) are performed and the finished gold bead is sent to stock or storage (act 955) to await use. Finishing operations 945 may be substantially similar to corresponding finishing operations 360 of method 300.

[0063] In some embodiments a plurality of gold beads 100 are simultaneously formed from metal sheet 1005 in the beading process of method 900 using multiple die or a die with multiple apertures 1010. The metal sheet 1005 may be advanced over the multiple die and/or multiple apertures as the gold beads are formed and removed from the die.

[0064] The method 900 may exhibit reduced material losses as compared to method 300. In some embodiments method 900 may result in about twice as much starting material being included in the finished gold beads than in method 300. For example, in some embodiments, method 900 may have a material yield (the percentage of starting material in the starting material stack 500 included in the finished gold beads) of about 60% as compared to a material yield of about 30% for method 300. In some embodiments, the only significant source of loss in method 900 is the drawing operation which yields approximately 60% of input material. The increased material yield of method 900 may result from the elimination of the tube drawing acts of method 300 and subsequent losses due to tube swaging and cutting associated with the drawing acts. Method 900 may also cause less loss of material when hydraulically pressing material into the die (act 930) as compared to the disc blanking act 325 of method 300. This is because the discs of method 300 that are pressed into the die are substantially smaller than the discs formed in the disc blanking act 325 of method to 300. The smaller discs of method 900 may utilize a greater amount of the metal sheet 1005 than an amount of the thinned sheet 650 used to form discs 655 in method 300 for similar reasons that a greater volume of a jar is occupied when filled by smaller spheres, for example, ball bearings as compared with larger spheres, for example, marbles.

[0065] Method 900 may also produce gold beads having improved properties relative to gold beads formed according to method 300. The bead forming process of method 900 subjects the portions of the gold beads including the apertures 110 to less mechanical deformation and less thinning than the bead forming process of method 300. The gold beads of method 900 may thus have a more consistent thickness in different areas of the gold beads than the gold beads formed according to method 300.

[0066] For example, the wall thickness at the center of beads formed through method 300 may swell by about 10% while the wall thickness proximate the apertures may thin by as much as 50%. These changes in dimensions may be significantly reduced by using method 900. Method 900 may thus allow for greater control and uniformity of the thickness of the gold beads formed.

[0067] Gold beads formed according to embodiments of method 900 may be formed into jewelry items by mounting the gold beads on a support, for example, a wire or chain by passing the support through the apertures in the gold beads. The jewelry items may include, for example, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, or other forms of jewelry.

[0068] Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. One or more features of any one embodiment disclosed herein may be combined with or substituted for one or more features of any other embodiment disclosed. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.

[0069] The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description to and should not be regarded as limiting. As used herein, the term "plurality" refers to two or more items or components. As used herein, dimensions which are described as being "substantially similar" should be considered to be within about 25% of one another. The terms "comprising," "including," "carrying," "having," "containing," and "involving," whether in the written description or the claims and the like, are open-ended terms, i.e., to mean "including but not limited to." Thus, the use of such terms is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter, and equivalents thereof, as well as additional items. Only the transitional phrases "consisting of" and "consisting essentially of," are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, with respect to the claims. Use of ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," and the like in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

Claims

1. A method of producing a metallic bead, the method comprising: forming a metallic cylinder including a closed lower end and an open upper end in an aperture in a die by pressing a metallic sheet into the aperture in the die; and coning the open upper end of the metallic cylinder to form a swaged upper end by applying a concave lower surface of a first punch to the open upper end of the metallic cylinder.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming an aperture in the closed lower end of the metallic cylinder while the metallic cylinder is present in the aperture in the die.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising thinning the metallic sheet to a thickness substantially similar to a wall thickness of the metallic bead prior to pressing the metallic sheet into the aperture in the die.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the metallic sheet by rolling a starting material stack including a precious metal bonded to a base metal having a strength greater than the precious metal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein producing the metallic bead comprises producing a gold filled bead.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the metallic cylinder comprises forming the closed lower end with into a substantially hemispherical shape.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein pressing the metallic sheet into the aperture in the die comprises pressing the metallic sheet into the aperture in the die with a convex lower end of a second punch.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the swaged upper end comprises forming the swaged upper end with a substantially hemispherical shape.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming an aperture in the swaged upper end.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein producing the metallic bead comprises producing a substantially spherical metallic bead.

11. A method of producing a jewelry item, the method comprising: forming a metallic cylinder having a closed lower end by punching a portion of a metallic sheet into an aperture in a die, the aperture having a concave lower surface; and coning an upper end of the metallic cylinder by applying a first punch to the upper end of the metallic cylinder.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein punching a portion of a metallic sheet into the aperture in the die comprises applying a convex lower surface of a second punch to the metallic sheet.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising forming the metallic sheet by rolling a starting material stack including a precious metal bonded to a base metal having a strength greater than the precious metal.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein swaging the upper end of the metallic cylinder comprises substantially closing the upper end of the metallic cylinder.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising forming an aperture in the upper end of the metallic cylinder while the metallic cylinder is disposed in the aperture in the die.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein swaging the upper end of the metallic cylinder comprises applying a concave lower surface of the first punch to the upper end of the metallic cylinder.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising forming an aperture in the closed lower end while the metallic cylinder is disposed in the aperture in the die.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein producing the jewelry item comprises producing a gold filled bead.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein producing the jewelry item comprises producing the gold filled bead with a substantially circular cross section.

20. The method of claim 19, producing the jewelry item comprises producing the gold filled bead with a substantially spherical shape.

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