An amber & silver pendant, plus a theory of gifts

The amber cabochon, set in silver, held up to the light

It's easy to be so caught up in the minutia of life that birthdays sneak up on us and the best gift we can find at hideously short notice is whatever comes to hand in the right price range at (gulp) the supermarket. It's not good, is it.

I'm very aware that, since I've been making jewellery, I've made a lot of it as gifts. And, as the years have passed, I've wondered how many recipients are smiling through gritted teeth rather than really liking what I've made for them. Most women will appreciate jewellery as a gift but jewellery is also very personal and, even if you know someone well, what you think their style is may not be what they really like. I think I would be suspicious that they were trying too hard if someone wore what I'd made them every time we met, but when I never see them wear anything I've made it does lead me to wonder if they ever do...

So, a combination of this apprehension and trying not to overwhelm with sheer quantity of jewellery has led me to be circumspect when I decide to make a friend or relative a piece of jewellery for their special day. But another combination of a special birthday, a hankering to set a stone (something I've not done in ages), and a bit of a tip-off came together to prompt me to make this pendant for a relative. And I planned it long enough in advance that, barring major soldering disasters, I could avoid any fear of a last minute supermarket dash.



I've not set amber before but I have used amber beads and so knew it was quite a soft substance - just 2 - 2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which is extraordinary for something that has survived for many millions of year. In deference to this, I bought myself more than one gemstone, just in case... plus, as I was buying online I figured I should then have at least one good-looking piece to set if I had a few to chose from.

The whole project was quite a process of remembering how to do things, and finding ways to make techniques fit the finished-item-image that I had in my mind (and doodled on a piece of paper). My favourite part was when I, finally, set the amber into the setting. Whether that was pleasure at being near the end, or just the sheer satisfaction of carefully pushing the silver round the stone, I'm not entirely sure. Despite giving myself enough time to finish the pendant, I was always aware that something could go wrong as any moment and I'd have to start over - not that I'm always a pessimist but working with small pieces of silver with a soldering torch and hammer carries obvious risks.

While I made a host of notes of things to do differently, and better, when I next set a stone, the amber survived unscratched and, perhaps even better, the finished necklace was liked and - wait for it - worn...

Leaf Evolution

More leaf work . . . pendants, and some earrings, including some stylised ideas I've been playing around with . . .

Rings on your fingers?

I've kept the very first scroll ring I made just for me . . . but I've listed a couple of the others on Folksy . . .

Rings for my fingers . . .

With thoughts turning to colder weather and swirls of frost and ice promising an appearance soon, I've been playing around with ideas for rings these past couple of weeks.



I'm not great at sizing rings, tending to let them find by themselves which finger they want to fit, often because I've made them primarily for myself in the past and I'm pretty laid-back about such things.



And this particular style of ring does lend itself to reaching a size all on its own, depending on the curl created and where the ends meet. Part of the fun in making them is letting them form almost naturally, using the natural curve the silver wire possesses.



I'm doing a craft fair this weekend and so will take some of these along, see what people say. Sizing is more than a matter of whether a ring fits or not, feels comfortable and looks right, it's more than any measurement (large knuckles, anyone?); so it may make more sense to let any potential owner of a ring find out by trying it on, whether it does or doesn't 'work'.

Return to leaving

My mild addiction to leaves has resurfaced.

I've spent some considerable time this last week or so patiently soldering, filing, polishing, creating pieces of shining autumn.



Okay, autumn isn't quite here yet, or rather, parts of it are (the leaves are starting to fall, even if the changing colours aren't widespread), and different parts of the country experience the turn at different times. Plus, the sun has shone hotly a couple of times, prompting butterflies and bees to fly again. And I still saw swallows when I looked to the blue sky yesterday . . .

But the feel of autumn is in the air. And leaves, which it seems we can overlook with greater ease in summer and winter, are all the more apparent in spring, when they reemerge bright green, and now, in autumn, when they turn to jewel colours and fall around us.




I've experimented with different sizes of leaves, from smaller, and sometimes slightly more abstract forms, at just over 2 cm long . . .




to the longer length, at 4 cm, where creating the veins and texture is easier with a little more silver to work with.




Earrings are proving tricky as one of the things I've always liked about the leaves I create, their individuality, means forming a matching pair is, so far, a slightly frustrating task.



Hmm . . .

Finished articles coming very soon . . .

Wedding silver

A family member got married last weekend and I made up a couple of napkin rings for her and her other half. I used .9mm sterling silver sheet, 20cm long and 1cm wide.

I took a few photos of work in progress - from the metal I bought (already cut to size - I'm no fool) . . .



. . . to how the rings (or, as they still were then, strips of silver) looked after planishing . . .





And then I truly discovered how tricky planished silver is to photograph. The camera I was using seemed confused by the throw of light from the differently angled silver. It may have had something to do with my lack of photography skills as well . . .



After the silver was planished, I then polished it as, once formed into shape, it would be difficult, time-consuming and no doubt ultimately unsatisfying to try and do any major polishing then. I decided on leaving the underside of the rings with a matt finish, and leaving the planishing marks on the top side as the play of light on those is always wonderful to see. Plus, a totally smooth and shiny finish easily shows daily wear and those tiny scratches that seem to come from nowhere . . .



And, given the curving design of the rings, the combination of the two textures (the silky grey of the inside (which is sometimes on the outside), and the bounce and glint of the outside (which is sometimes on the inside)) seemed to make the most sense.



After hallmarking, I bent the rings up around a steel mandrel by hand and hide mallet, getting them as identical to each other as I could, and then spent a fair amount of time making them fit nicely against the table surface without any wobbles.



Then a final swish with some magic polishing cream someone lent me, and they were done.

Leavings

These aren't quite finished yet, still need some filing and polishing, but they're on their way now . . .

Silver, silver

For those who make items in sterling you'll know how I'm feeling when I say I'm about to buy some more silver, always a nervous time as I try not to buy the wrong amount (too little can be as bad as too much!), make sure my measurements are right and double check I've not forgotten anything that I'm going to need in a week's time.

I've another big project on the very close horizon and, while I need to be a bit cagey about it here (just in case the recipient should stop buy and have a read), suffice to say it requires enough silver to make me gulp a little when I'd figured out the pricing.

How come no matter how much silver you end up accumulating it's just never the right size, shape, depth . . . ?



I buy most often from Cooksons Gold and they have a handy little page that shows you the pricing of precious metals so you can feel a bit annoyed at yourself that you either didn't stock up last week, three months ago or, even better five years back, before silver began to climb in price.

When I first started working in silver, around ten years ago, prices were relatively cheap and while it was still valued, and any left-overs pieces carefully put away for later use, it wasn't quite as painful as it is now when you make a mistake.

Having a wander around the net I've found a pretty scary site called Kitco which makes me think the sooner I place my order the better - although, naturally enough, the sooner I place it the sooner I can get started making which is probably more to the point.

I also found a graph (no, seriously, this is interesting!) showing the price of silver over 600 years; given the massive drop in its price around the mid eighties compared to what it had been previously, perhaps I'm wrong to even be complaining about the cost today at all!

Okay, back to figuring out my order and, despite the last paragraph, still seeing where I can cut back!

And, at last, here's some jewellery . . .

I should also very soon have some items for sale in my Folksy shop - I'll post the link here when it's done!