Nadreli - Piece #8

I call these earrings "Curled Pearl." They are crafted with sterling silver and argentium (the posts are argentium). The offset black pearls are natural.

Nadreli - Piece #7

This dark, cocktail ring has been darkened with a silver oxidizer. Small, angled holes have been drilled into the domed portion to give contrast against the oxidized portions.

The interior of the size 6 ring has been high polished.

Nadreli - Piece #6

This small, domed, pendant was created with sterling silver. It hangs on a 16" rolo chain. The interior has been oxidized for a dark effect on the interior.

Nadreli - Piece #5

This pendant was hand-crafted using sterling silver and 18K gold. The silver was oxidized to give it the black colour which shows off the gold nicely.

A centre punch was used to create the dappled texture around the gold dot.

Week 7 - Celtic Wedding Bands

Argentium Sterling Silver wedding bands, engraved with a "doodly" celtic design. Brushed finish.

Another commission, a quick pair of custom wedding bands..  I was told to think of Spanish Class doodles when engraving the celtic twists, which totally works against my newfound need for perfection, but they turned out pretty nice in the end.

Week 6 - Moonstone Ring

Sterling Silver, 14k gold, and a very striated but still very beautiful moonstone.

Soooo behind.   I'm lousy with commissions right now and all of them have been very hard.

This was a commission for a lady who had lost a ring that had a lot of sentimental value to it, and this is the closest copy we could come to. Her original had a tibetan glass stone in the center, and was a little bit bigger, but such is life.

The studio isn't really set up for larger scale silver work with lots of soldering, and this ring is both.  I ended up having to make my own homespun flux for it, because my spray flux I had was burning out too fast and the soldering wasn't working too well.  It's been a LONG time since I've soldered a bezel onto a shank.  I'm going to guess at 5 years. It's not like riding a bicycle it turns out.  It's also been the same 5 years since I've actually set a cabochon, but that went okay.

Week 5 - Eternal pendant

Tarnish resistant satin finished sterling silver and ultramarine chalcedony pendant on a sterling snake chain. (2.6cm long x 1.3cm wide)

I really like the 3-dimensionality of this pendant, it reminds me of a mobius loop, and the colour of the stones make me think of the expansive ocean.. two things with no end.

I bought these 1.7mm machine cut and calibrated chalcedony at JCK over a year ago, and have had a nearly complete design block on what to use them in.  They're a beautiful colour, and the facets capture and contain light in a really interesting way the picture doesn't show.. they nearly seem to glow an electric blue, but chalcedony is only a 6 or 7 on the moh's scale, and therefore too soft to use in anything that isn't going to be fairly protected. 

I constructed this pendant by hand, and it's one of a kind, I didn't take a mold, as I didn't think it would turn out quite this pretty. This was also my first time constructing prongs for pavé in the actual metal, as I've only ever carved them in wax until now.  It went well.  I was worried about setting something as soft as chalcedony, but it went great, and I'm very happy with the finished piece.

Week 4

Argentium silver snake slider with pink sapphire eyes on a sterling snake chain.

Snakes, snakes snakes.

Week 3

Sterling silver and freshwater pearl earrings.

Nadreli - Piece #4

Sterling silver, and rutilated green quartz.

Nadreli - Piece #3

Oxidized sterling silver and 18K gold solder on an 18" sterling silver chain.

Week 2

Sterling Silver and simulated pink sapphire earring hoops.

These earrings are all hand constructed without any cast components, which is something I haven't done for a long time.  They attach very securely into the ears, and the dangles can be changed easily to match mood or outfit.  I love these... they're subtle and incredibly comfortable, but still pretty with a touch of sparkle.  The stones are 4mm wide.

Nadreli - Piece #2

Oxidized sterling silver, bird's eye maple veneer, natural black pearl, and clear resin in a men's tie tack.

Nadreli - Piece #1

Oxidized sterling silver dome pendant.

Week 1

High Argentium Silver and black resin

 This was a commission from my little sister, for her boyfriend.  I'm not overly experienced with resin, but this turned out very nice, a really bold, geometric, manly look that I am fond of.  The ring was cast in High Argentium, which is 97% or higher fine silver, mixed with an alloy of germanium that helps prevent firescale, tarnish, and increases hardness.  It's also very white, and looks great against the black I think!