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Rutilated Quartz Pendant

September 30, 2019 By Danielle

Rutilated quartz pendant in sterling silver, commission, September 2019

Rutilated quartz pendant in fabricated sterling silver setting, private commission. September 2019. (Wish I had twenty more cabs of this amazing material..!!)

Rutilated quartz pendant in sterling silver, commission, September 2019

Rutilated quartz pendant in sterling silver, commission, September 2019

Rutilated quartz pendant in sterling silver, commission, September 2019

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing, jewelry, pendants, rutilated quartz

Spectrolite Moonstone Ring

August 8, 2019 By Danielle

Spectrolite moonstone ring in sterling silver, August 2019.

Spectrolite moonstone ring in sterling silver, August 2019.

Spectrolite moonstone ring in sterling silver, August 2019.

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing, jewelry, moonstone, rings

Art Nouveau Labradorite Pendant

March 9, 2019 By Danielle

Blue labradorite pendant with Art Nouveau-inspired bail, private commission, March 2019

Blue labradorite pendant with Art Nouveau-inspired bail, private commission. March 2019.

Blue labradorite pendant with Art Nouveau-inspired bail, private commission, March 2019

Blue labradorite pendant with Art Nouveau-inspired bail, private commission, March 2019

Blue labradorite pendant with Art Nouveau-inspired bail, private commission, March 2019

Blue labradorite pendant with Art Nouveau-inspired bail, private commission, March 2019

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing, jewelry, labradorite, pendants

Electric Blue Labradorite Pendant

September 14, 2018 By Danielle

Electric blue labradorite pendant in fabricated sterling silver setting. September 2018.

Electric blue labradorite pendant in fabricated sterling silver setting. September 2018.

Electric blue labradorite pendant in fabricated sterling silver setting. September 2018.

Electric blue labradorite pendant in fabricated sterling silver setting. September 2018.

Electric blue labradorite pendant in fabricated sterling silver setting. September 2018.

Electric blue labradorite pendant in fabricated sterling silver setting. September 2018.

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing, jewelry, labradorite, pendants

Green Labradorite Bespoke Ring

February 5, 2018 By Danielle

Green labradorite ring in fabricated sterling silver setting, gift. February 2018.

Green labradorite ring in fabricated sterling silver setting, gift. February 2018.

Green labradorite ring in fabricated sterling silver setting, gift. February 2018.

Green labradorite ring in fabricated sterling silver setting, gift. February 2018.

Green labradorite ring in fabricated sterling silver setting, gift. February 2018.

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing, jewelry, labradorite, rings

Faceted Labradorite Slider Pendant

August 25, 2017 By Danielle

Faceted labradorite slider pendant, sterling silver, August 2017

Faceted labradorite slider pendant, fabricated in sterling silver, August 2017.

Faceted labradorite slider pendant, sterling silver, August 2017

Faceted labradorite slider pendant, sterling silver, August 2017

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing, jewelry, labradorite, pendants

A Purple Labradorite Pendant

January 24, 2016 By Danielle

When I first got this stone in hand, I knew it was something I wanted to keep for myself (I’m a big fan of purple, AND labradorite. Didn’t know it came in purple!!) I made this alongside the labradorite demi-parure in June 2015; a few pictures overlap.

Stones with bezels and decorative borders.

Bezels with backs cut out.

Pendant, ready to file and set.

Pendant, ready to file and set.

Set pendant, ready to polish.

Polished, oxidized pendant in the workshop.

Finished pendant in sunlight.

Another shot of the purple flash.

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing, jewelry, labradorite, pendants

Labradorite Demi-Parure

January 23, 2016 By Danielle

This is the first demi-parure I’ve made (which is just a fancy way of saying a matched set.) Set completed in labradorite and sterling silver, in June-July 2015.

“A parure is a full set of matching jewelry designed to be worn together en suite. A demi-parure is a less elaborate suite of jewelry with two or more pieces. The French in particular were known to have delighted in wearing formalized and elaborate suites and indeed, the term parure comes from the French verb, parer, meaning to adorn.”
— Antique Jewelry University

The unset stones.

Stones with bezels and decorative borders.

Bezels with backs cut out.

Cut out and ready to file.

Finished pendant, ready to set.

Finished earrings, ready to set.

Polished  and oxidized earrings and pendant.

Finished earrings, with labradorite rondelles.

Finished necklace, with labradorite rondelles and sterling drops and chain.

Detail of finished necklace.

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: earrings, goldsmithing, jewelry, labradorite, necklaces

A Birthday Necklace

March 8, 2015 By Danielle

Mom's birthday necklace, front viewLast month was my mom’s birthday (hi Mom!), and I decided to make her a pendant using one of the stones I bought last summer from a fellow RAGMS member. I chose a blue-green oval, which the club member said was “turquoise” — not entirely incorrect. I believe it’s an Eilat stone: a combination of malachite, azurite, chrysocolla and turquoise (all copper-bearing minerals.) It’s a gorgeous stone, and I thought it would contrast well with Mom’s red hair and fair complexion.

I’m really happy with how this pendant turned out, I think it’s my best to date! I explained my design idea to my mentor, he broke it down into steps so I could work most efficiently, and I completed the piece in about 2.5 hours (a speed record, for me!)

Starting the birthday pendant Birthday pendant: bezel and decorative beading soldered to back plate, back cut-out detail sawed out.

As I was pressed for time, I only took a couple of in-progress photos (and didn’t want to post any more than these to Instagram or Facebook, for fear of ruining the surprise.) I soldered the bezel closed, then soldered the decorative beading wire closed in a ring, hammered it flat and fitted it to just outside the bezel, then soldered both to the back plate at the same time, which saved time, pain and stress. I then cut out a heart shape on the back plate, so the color of the stone would show through. (Definitely something I’d try doing again!)

Birthday necklace, front view Birthday necklace, side view Finished necklace in the workshop, three views

As I said, I’m pretty pleased with how this ended up, and so was the recipient! ♥

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: Eilat stone, goldsmithing, jewelry, pendants

Fabrication 3: Construction

September 16, 2014 By Danielle

As promised, here are my photos from the Fabrication 3 class I took at Revere in July. The two projects were a sweat-soldered layered brooch, and a hollow box ring.

The brooch was a fun project, as we used a rolling mill to impress the silver with patterns from fabric, paper, and plastic textures. I patterned the base of my brooch with a glittery tulle fabric, and paper-punched snowflakes. The top layer was rolled with 220-grit sandpaper. I domed the two layers, then soldered them together (which was harder than I bargained for, LOL), and soldered on the back pin hinge and catch.

Materials for patterning metals with the rolling mill, July 2014
Design sketches, materials for patterning metals with the rolling mill.
Bottom silver sheet for brooch, with patterning materials, July 2014
Bottom silver sheet for brooch, with patterning materials.
Patterned top and bottom silver sheets for brooch, July 2014
Patterned top and bottom silver sheets for brooch.
Top layer shaped and domed for brooch, July 2014
Top layer shaped and domed for brooch.
Top and bottom layers domed, ready for soldering, July 2014
Top and bottom layers domed, ready for soldering.
Top and bottom soldered together, July 2014
Top and bottom brooch layers soldered together.
Ready to solder on the brooch hinge and catch, July 2014
Ready to solder on the brooch hinge and catch.
Pin attached, not long enough! July 2014
Pin attached, not long enough!
Brooch pin adjusted to stretch across, whew! July 2014
Brooch pin adjusted to stretch across, whew!
Finished brooch, July 2014
Finished brooch.

The hollow box ring was quite challenging. It starts as two long strips, the inner ring and outer wall. The inner strip is soldered together into a ring; the outer strip is soldered to the outside of the inner ring. In the end, the bottom half of the ring is solid metal, and the top is hollow. Once attached, these are soldered onto a flat sheet, forming the first side of the hollow ring, which is then cut out from the sheet and cut out on the inside (remaking the finger hole, basically.) Once this is done, you repeat the process with the other side, forming a box ring with an open top.

There’s a lot of filing and finishing to be done at this point, to make all the corners square and flush. A pattern is chosen for the top, and the final bit of soldering is done (there must be a hole either in the top piece, or drilled through the bottom part of the hollow ring, else the ring will explode during the final solder. No, really.) I got as far as soldering the top on, and then finished the final trimming, filing and polishing closer to home.

An assortment of hollow box rings, in various stages of completion and decoration.
An assortment of hollow box rings, in various stages of completion and decoration.
Soldering the inner and outer ring shank together.
Soldering the inner and outer ring shank together.
Inner and outer shanks attached, filed flat.
Ready to solder on the first side!
Ready to solder on the first side!
First side soldered on, pre-pickling (not cleaned)
First side soldered on, pre-pickling (not cleaned)
PIckled, ready to cut out inner hole and outer shape.
PIckled, ready to cut out inner hole and outer shape.
All cut out, and ready for side two!
All cut out, and ready for side two!
Side two soldered on, ready to pickle.
Side two soldered on, ready to pickle.
Both sides cut out, ready to file and sand.
Both sides cut out, ready to file and sand.
Filed and sanded, ready to solder on the top.
Filed and sanded, ready to solder on the top.
Another view, pre-top.
Another view, pre-top.
Top soldered on, just needs to be trimmed, filed, and polished.
Top soldered on, just needs to be trimmed, filed, and polished.
Finished hollow box ring, July 2014
Finished hollow box ring, July 2014

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: brooches, goldsmithing, jewelry, rings

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My Other Jewelry Blog

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Favorite Haunts

  • Antique Jewelry University
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GIA Alumni Association

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