Project two at the Appalachian Rock Shop with Jo Naleppa - yes, it's another pendant!! My goal was to get a good grip on bezel setting stones, but I decided to go in a different direction this time and am setting this beautiful stone with prongs from 16 ga. wire. The back plate and bail are created with sterling silver. This probably looks pretty simple, but for those of you who don't make jewelry, there is a lot of time that goes into the simplest creation. I was in class for three hours and in that time, I outlined my back plate and bail, cut them out with a jeweler's saw, rounded the edges with filing tools and then sanded them with three different grits/sanding papers. I hammered the edges to add a little interest and will probably have to go over the edges again before I am done. The pieces were pickled and cleaned. At that point, I formed the wires, gave them a little sanding where they were to be soldered, and fluxed everything. We also added some "mud" on the parts of the wire that we didn't not want to get soldered (accidentally). After soldering the wires, they had to be placed in water and pickle. Then back to the drawing board so the soldered wires could be soldered onto the plate. More flux, more mud, then pinned to the soldering brick so it wouldn't move during soldering. After a successful join of metals, back into the water and pickle for cleaning. The next step should be attaching the bail...next week The bail will be carefully bent in half and placed on the back plate - more flux - place the solder, and we should be close to setting the stone.... but I think there will be more polishing before that. So, that is the process. More next week!
I tell you this because when artisans have to price their work, it is not just the materials, but the time and energy that goes into creating a piece that is pleasing to the eye and of good workmanship. The best part (for me) of creating, is finding that special person who falls in love with something you made That brings me great joy and keeps me going! Thanks for reading my post! Please leave a comment! I appreciate knowing when someone has read my posts and if you have something to add, I would love for you to share!
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