It’s been a while since I bought these two gorgeous stones: one aquamarine and one prehnite cab:
I’ve already made a ring with the prehnite, which you can see it here. But I wasn’t sure what to do with the aquamarine, so I started sketching until I came up with an acceptable design:
This was one option for the bezel, which was rejected! Maybe I’ll try this another time!
This one is closer to the final piece:
Among other things, I collect driftwood from the beach and I thought it would make a nice combination with the aquamarine. Here is a small portion of my collection! I wanted to attach the driftwood with some thread or other strong cord but it didn’t work well at the final stage of adding the driftwood, so I decided to wire-wrap it instead.
I also considered replacing the driftwood with a piece of branch coral but the ones I had available were either too short or too long.
As I was filing the sterling silver base of the pendant, I decided to try melting the edges to achieve an organic look……and then…..as I was playing with the torch, I thought it would be even better to reticulate the whole piece!!! After cleaning, oxidizing it and give it a final finish, this hand-dyed silk ribbon seemed appropriate for hanging the pendant:
I got it from JamnGlass on Etsy. This procedure describes -most of the time- the process of designing and making my jewelry.
- Materials, like stones, ribbons etc., provide an initial inspiration.
- Sketching comes next
- But then again, as I actually start making it happen, I often change my mind along the way, start improvising and decide what works best!
Hope you like the final outcome!