I work in sterling silver, nickel silver, copper, and occasionally brass. Nickel silver is slightly more gray than sterling, but polishes nicely, is less expensive and etches beautifully. I've been practicing the art of jewelry making for a few years and am still learning all the wonders of sawing, cutting, rolling, etching, and using torches. The torch is my favorite thing! If you hover over a picture, a caption will appear to tell you a little more.
This website is a portfolio of my work. Current pieces for sale can be seen on the "shop earrings" and "shop necklaces" pages.
The vocabulary:
bezel--the metal frame around a stone. It's usually a complete frame, but sometimes I use a partial bezel which simply means it's broken up into two or more pieces.
etched metal--copper, brass and nickel silver can be chemically etched by drawing or stamping a design on the metal and suspending it in ferric chloride for a while. Sharpie ink will protect the designed portion of the metal and leave it slightly raised.
solder (v.)--using a torch and solder (n.) to bond metal to metal
reticulate--using enough heat from the torch to begin to melt the surface of the metal for a unique textured effect