I thought and thought and thought and just could not devise an unique chain pattern of my own, so I sat down and made a European Box chain with 6 mm ID rings (hand cut from 18 gauge round copper wire).  The result is a 7 inch bracelet here displayed on a flocked hand. The process of  making chain is very relaxing for me; and it exercises my arthritic hands.  Cutting to the chase, here it is:…

Continue

For those who want to see the basic process for creating a piece of jewelry, here is a chronicle through the creation of a necklace pendant. 





First a brass blank was selected to put my design on.  I had an idea about a "drop" of metal with a stone inset at the bottom of the drop.   I drew a stylized drop…

Continue

The Federal Trade Commission plans to revise the widely used and consulted Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries in 2012, the agency announced.

This would mark the Guides’ first major overhaul since 1996.

Jewelers Vigilance…

Continue

On a visit last week at my local little rock shop, I was given an offer that I could not refuse.  They would give me a slab of Larimar and I could keep the rest after I cut them 3 oval cabochons.  I cut five cabochons, two of which fell into multiple pieces.  I salvaged one of the pieces and made a small half oval cab.  The remainder was so fractured, I made it into a freeform cabochon:…



Continue

Customer in Indonesia, has asked for rings to go with the bracelet that I designed and made for him.  Ring so far is almost done, the head is in place and the diamond has been mounted on a bezel.  There is a map of the location where the diamonds were mined, and the map is in the back of the head.  Diamond will be placed over the mine location and then resin will be domed to hold the diamond in place.…

Continue

As the summer progresses in the Upstate of South Carolina, we tell people, "it isn't hot yet, just wait until August."  July has been horrible, temperatures and humidity levels in the 90s all day.  Of course, this means that we can spend more time in the shop as it is on the central air conditioning system.



Debora has been avidly designing and putting earrings, bracelets, necklaces and anklets together with her glass beads.  She spends a lot of time planning each of her pieces.  She… Continue

Online Exhibition: "Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder"

   http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/beb



   "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder" showcases 247 images chosen

   from entries from over 55 artists representing North America, South

   America, Europe, Australia, Central America, Africa and Eurasia.



   The drive to adorn the human body is surely as old as human kind.

   From… Continue

Copper cuff bracelet. 7 x 1 inch 23 gauge copper sheet, that was textured with two patterns. Random round dimples (dots)…

Continue

I started this project with a slab of Lapis Lazuli sent to me from Kandahar, Afghanistan.  From this rough slab, I cut an 18 x 13 mm oval cabochon.  This is one of the "calibrated" sizes for gemstones.  Thus I purchased from casting company the other two components the head and shank to make a ring.







These three items were combined to make the… Continue

For the recent past, I have been almost exclusively making pendants and necklaces.  The most recent have involved beading, silversmithing, stone setting, lapidary, design and several other techniques.  This pendant was inspired by the rock crystal cabochon that is the focal spot of the pendant.  It is internally flawless.  Using sheet Sterling Silver, I sawed the back of the pendant in an outline of the tear shape of… Continue

For the recent past, I have been almost exclusively making pendants and necklaces.  The most recent have involved beading, silversmithing, stone setting, lapidary, design and several other techniques.  This pendant was inspired by the rock crystal cabochon that is the focal spot of the pendant.  It is internally flawless.  Using sheet Sterling Silver, I sawed the back of the pendant in an outline of the tear shape of… Continue

I decided to take a bit of a walk on the wild side.  I was looking at a quartz cabochon in my inventory and decided to use both copper and fine silver to make a bezel setting for this stone.  In order to show the internal flawless condition, I wanted the back of the pendant to be open.  This cabochon is so clear and cut so it works like a magnifying glass.… Continue

Using the bead that I made and posted in blog last week I fashioned a copper chain and clasp necklace to go with the bead.  Very organic looking, it took almost a month to fabricate entirely.  One of my better designs.

 …

Continue

I read a technique in "Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist" on making large beads.  In this technique, the artist starts with a slap of some material.  I chose for my first a slab of agate with a layered pattern in it.  From the slab, I cut four rectangular solids which were combined to make one large rectangular solid with a channel through the middle (square in shape).  Using my lapidary (8" diamond wheels) flat lap I rounded the rectangular solid into a cylinder.  Now comes the copper part. …

Continue