Hammer Texture Circle Necklace

This necklace has a great rustic feel to it and the circular pendant has a nice weight. It isn't at all dainty.

This necklace took some time to make and a lot of heating and reheating of the sterling silver wire that makes up the circle. It isn't easy to get 10 gauge metal to do exactly what you're telling it to do. The wire was annealed and formed around a round ring mandrel. The ends were soldered closed and it was work hardened in a tumbler with stainless steel shot.

I hammered the circle with a ball peen hammer to give it a nice texture. I made a wire-wrapped bail for the piece from sterling silver wire to keep with the rustic look. I added the pendant to an 18'' sterling silver figure eight chain with a matching lobster clasp and then oxidized the whole piece. I used steel wool to bring up highlights in the pendant and chain.

The pendant measures 1''x1.25'' (including the bail). The circle itself is 1''.

HUGS,
Cait

Dashes and Eights Earrings

These earrings are a new favorite of mine...

Organic circles are cut from 20 gauge sterling silver sheet and textured with lines and eight-like double circles. The circles measure 1/2'' and are oxidized and steel wool finished to bring out the metal's pattern. Clear and bright 6mm faceted round aquamarine beads hang from the bottom of the circles.

The earrings measure 1.5'' from the top of the ear wires and come with clear hypoallergenic ear wire guards so you don't have to worry about losing one of your new treasures.

* I used the term "organic circles" to describe the fact that the circles are not perfectly round. That was a bit too stuffy for my vision for these earrings.

HUGS,
Cait

Gear Ring in Sterling Silver

This ring isn't for the faint of heart. It's edgy and bold.

This ring was made by utilizing the technique of lost wax casting. I carved the gear shape from a block of wax by hand and smoothed the sides with sandpaper. I attached the sprue, built the wax tree, mixed and poured the investment, and kiln fired the piece myself. Once the wax model was melted away and the investment was properly cured I used a casting torch and a centrifugal casting machine to force molten sterling silver into the empty cavity inside the investment. Centrifugal casting uses a spinning action and gravity to get a clean fill in the investment.

I cleaned the investment away and cleaned the ring. Then I finished the ring with a matte finishing using a 3M satin finishing buff on a polishing machine. The buff gives a super smooth matte finish.

The ring is heavy - but not overly so and the band is 1cm wide (3/8''). The grooves that make up the gear shape make the ring super comfortable to wear, your fingers rest between them.

Size 7

HUGS

Cait