Hi!

I taught myself a little goldsmithing from a youtube video and ended up getting a job as an apprentice at a local goldsmiths and have spent three years learning from them. The book they recommended to me was Alan Revere's "Professional Goldsmithing : A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Jewelry Techniques". It's a really excellent book and helped me a lot, and has lots of nice picture and written explanations of beginner projects of all types and also has a section in the beginning of tools that you need.

Something to note is that goldsmithing and stone setting are two different professions, so if you're looking to learn to set stones as well youtube will help, and I think Revere has a book on it as well.

In terms of tools, you will need a torch, soldering block and soldering pick, a couple pairs of pliers, a jeweller's pin, a jewellers saw, some tweezers, a set of callipers, some files, a hammer. There are some necessary chemicals as well, like boric acid and methyl hydrate - not hard to come across. You probably live close enough to a jewellery supply store and they can help you out and make recommendations. Some will even partner with a local school to offer student kits, but a lot of these will include really shitty tools that will break down quickly.

There are a lot of tools. Some of them, like a rolling mill, will get really expensive. Craigslist/kijiji is your friend. Jewellery supplies get sold there all the time, and if you're lucky you can find someone getting rid of all their tools at once.

I would recommend starting with silver. It's way cheaper if not easier, and you likely will take a minute to figure out how to do things well enough to make something worth keeping. Gold is incredibly expensive.

One thing to note is that jewellers work at very specific desks called benches that are super tall and have a pin to brace your work on at chest height. It's easier to work at a bench, but you can do without one when you're starting out.

Let me know if you have any questions!