Savanna's Pendant - Process Photos

This is a commissioned piece for Savanna.  I visited her in downtown San Francisco on the same day that Vice President Joe Biden decided to come join our party.  Well he was in town for a fundraiser lunch, which of course caused major traffic jams and detours.

Savanna chose this picture type jasper where it looks like someone painted some red blooms across a gray canvas.  So pretty and definitely unique.  With the long rectangular shape of the stone, we decided to reiterate that shape with rectangles and squares.  Placing the toggle clasp in the front not only reflects the organic shape of the brick red inclusions, but also makes it more convenient to wear.  I promised Savanna I will take progress pictures so she can see the step by step process.  Below the photos are some general, less technical descriptions:

From top to bottom and left to right:
1.   raw materials - recycled sterling sheet, recycled fine silver bezel wire, and the jasper cab
2.   measuring and fitting the bezel wire for the stone and solder the ends together
3.   solder the bezel onto a piece of the sterling backing that I cut from the big sheet
4.   I then sawed out part of the back because I want to have the back of the cab showing
5.   here it is, back is cut
6.   I have to keep checking to make sure the stone still fits
7.   and this is how the stone looks from the back
8.   I file the sawn edges smooth - first the inside rectangle on the backing
9.   then I use a larger file for the outside edges
10. cut the decorative square holes
11. drill a hole for a jump ring to later attach the ring part of the toggle clasp, and sand the metal smooth
12. looking from the back
13. toggle and chain attached, patina applied
14. signed the piece and quality stamped it with "STER"
15. all ready to set the stone and pushing the bezel against it
16. voila - finished

Here's a closer look at the finished pendant:

Front 

Back

I will be making her ring next.  She chose a lepidocrocite quartz with faceted top.  Come back in a few days and I will post those process pictures as well.  :)

New Jasper Pendants

Been neglecting this little blog of mine lately.  Now that summer months are almost gone, I'm getting back into the show circuits.  Here are a couple of pendants using some new materials I got recently.  I was immediately captivated by their vibrant yellow and orange striations.  This jasper came from Indonesia.  Aren't they cool?

Right:  Large Oval Jasper Pendant
Left:  X-Large Long Oval Jasper Pendant

The large one (left) is huge, about 2-5/8 inches long.  The shorter one is about 2 inches long.  Both are set in heavy gauge recycled sterling silver for a strong sturdy frame.

RAW 52/22 - Raw Aquamarine Ring

Raw Aquamarine Ring

Got this and a few other stones at the recent gem show.  They have the split-face concrete block texture, which I've never seen it cut like that before.  Of course I can't let these beauties slip away from me.

From the top left, blue aquamarine, gold rutilated quartz, indicolite (blue tourmaline) in quartz, and green tourmaline in quartz. I love how the cutter preserved the natural beauty by not grinding or polishing them to the usual glass-like finish. I'll be setting these in the next few days.

Can you see the little bit of pink tourmaline mixed in with the green tourmaline in the stone at the lower right?  So amazing.  Since I consider these as rare finds, I will only finish making them half way.  This way, each of them can be customized to the client's specs - be it a ring or a pendant.  Contact me if you are interested.

Long Green Turquoise Pendant Necklace

Green Turquoise Pendant Necklace

This long slender green turquoise (32 x 8 mm) matches the ring I listed in the last post.  It is set the same way, and finished with the same texture on the silver.  The heavy bezel provides such a nice frame to the stone.  Yeah, a bit more silver used but so worth the uniqueness.

Labradorite Necklaces

Finally got a chance to make some new necklaces instead of rings for the Ring A Week challenge.  Two different styles, but both with labradorite which is one of my favorite stones. 

This one is more simple and contemporary.

Contemporary Labradorite Necklace

Vintage Styles Blue Labradorite Pendant Necklace

This one has wire formed scallops around the edges. It has a vintage feel, doesn't it?

New Pendant Necklaces in my Shop

Some new pendant necklaces I posted to my shop, using similar white druzy (or sometimes spelled drusy) agates.  This stone is pure white like sugar or snow that glistens when light hits the different facets of the crystal points.  They are the insides of geodes.  I set them with prongs to let more light through the stones.  The sterling setting is oxdized to a pretty mottled black.  These pendants come with an adjustable black satin cord, 16 to 30 inches long.

Although the stones and the mountings are similar, I saw pierced the sterling backing with different designs.  

You can find these in my shop.

Sweet Hearts Pendant for Valentine's

I always have these designs in my head of what I want to make for Valentine's Day.  I must be getting better because I made ONE of the designs this year.  Such a procrastinator!  Well, here it is.  Thought the prong setting is more appropriate for this stone since it has uneven top.  This is a tall stone too so a solid silver bezel will cost quite a penny. 

Sweet Hearts Pendant

A secret heart on the back.

This white druzy (sometimes spelled drusy) agate has nice medium size crystals to catch the light.  Whichever way it turns, some of the crystal points would catch the light.  Lots of fun rubbing a finger across the top.  The back of the stone has a glass-like polish, so I made a "secret" heart cutout.  I put a mottled black patina on the silver setting to contrast with the white stone.  Comes with a black satin cord.

I made three other similar but different pendants and will post them real soon.  Stay tuned.

New Pendants

Finally got some time at the bench during the holidays, so I made a few pendants and will be posting them to my website.  Links are below the images.


Reflections, a Landscape Type Jasper

Cripple Creek Jasper, also a type of picture jasper

Storm, Red Creek Jasper

Rhodochrosite

Seasons Greetings



Seafoam Green Druzy Agate Pendant Necklace

  Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season!

Rectangular Pendants

Picked out a few stones from my stash. They are rainbow moonstones, labradorite, and turquoise. Unfortunately, the marquise shaped lab disappeared after dropping onto my floor. Maybe I'll find it, I hope. And then disaster hit the setting for the turquoise on the left. I'll try to fix that pendant next week.

While photographing these pendants, I'm beginning to understand why moonstones got that name. It's like the darker the surrounding, the more vivid the irridescence.

Check out the orange diagonal strip on the moonstone to the left. It is so striking and makes for a very interesting stone. On either side of the stripe are some gorgeous blue and green schiller. The labradorite in the middle is small but has an intense icy blue flash. The smaller moonstone has soft peacock color and a dash of orange. I chose to use a chain with rectangular links to go with the pendant shape.

To see more pictures, click here.

Plum Flower Pendants

Took me a little while to finish these 3 pendants but I'm pretty happy with how they turn out. The sterling flowers has a black patina and a hand-rubbed wax protective coating. 5 gold (14kt) dots and the shimmer in each the (sunstone, labradorite and star ruby) is a great light-play against the dark patina.

Plum flowers have a lot of symbolic meanings in the Chinese culture. It represents virtue because it thrives in the coldest of winters and signals the upcoming spring. Each of the five petals of a plum blossom stands for the five major ethnic peoples of China - Han, Manchurian, Mongolian, Muslim, Tibetan. Sometimes the five petals refer to the five elements - metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. And it is also the official flower of the Choy Lay Fut kungfu system.

Ikebana & Kusuma Necklaces

Just finished these 4 pendant / necklaces:

1. Ikebana with Red Quartz. This red quartz is really unusual because it has these really sparkly mica inclusions, like pieces of glitters embedded.

2. Ikebana with Labradorite. I thought this half round labradorite makes a perfect "bowl" for this miniature ikebana arrangement.

3. Kusuma is an Indonesian name that means flower. These agatized Fossil Coral is a natural stone formed when ancient coral is gradually replaced with agate. They usually have small flower-like patterns. Each piece of coral can display different colors, depending on weathering/oxidation and original mineral content.

I added some 14k gold dots to complement the warm tones of these coral.

4. The back of this pendant is inscribed.