Silver, copper earrings. Beautiful orange (carnelian) stone. Handcrafted, original design; partial bezel. Great movement! Dress up or down.
SKU:
$30.00
$30.00
These earrings combine sterling silver, copper, carnelian and a new approach for me to design and execution! The two earrings in this pair are not identical, a little quirky, so fun! Dress them up; dress them down...you'll look spectacular.
The bezel (the metal band that holds a stone in place) is traditionally a complete band, making for a secure enclosure of the stone. A complete bezel also allows the designer to elevate (and hide the means of elevation) a stone for a more bold setting. The partial bezel requires a bit of a heftier stone and allows some design opportunity for securing the stone, like the addition of the silver ball on one earring in this pair.
A couple of other non-traditional things happened on the way to executing this design. Having started with stringing gemstones, I have a pretty stellar collection of beads. Typically, the stone used to set in a bezel is called a cabochon, not a bead. A cabochon has a flat back and has not been drilled with a hole. Sometimes though, a bead is flat enough to set, as is the case with the stones in these earrings. The hole doesn't show, as it is covered by the bezel. I loved being able to set some beads!
The other cool thing that happened was toward the end. I put the settings in my tumbler for a final polish before setting the stone. A tumbler uses steel shot to roll around the jewelry with a little water and liquid cleaner. The shot has to be kept very clean to keep any residue from transferring to the metal. In this case, and I have no idea why, when I pulled the earrings out of the tumbler, there was some blue color on the silver...as you can see in one of the pictures, I left it...wish I knew exactly how to replicate it! (I can't guarantee the color will last forever; as you polish the earrings, it will likely come off.)
The bezel (the metal band that holds a stone in place) is traditionally a complete band, making for a secure enclosure of the stone. A complete bezel also allows the designer to elevate (and hide the means of elevation) a stone for a more bold setting. The partial bezel requires a bit of a heftier stone and allows some design opportunity for securing the stone, like the addition of the silver ball on one earring in this pair.
A couple of other non-traditional things happened on the way to executing this design. Having started with stringing gemstones, I have a pretty stellar collection of beads. Typically, the stone used to set in a bezel is called a cabochon, not a bead. A cabochon has a flat back and has not been drilled with a hole. Sometimes though, a bead is flat enough to set, as is the case with the stones in these earrings. The hole doesn't show, as it is covered by the bezel. I loved being able to set some beads!
The other cool thing that happened was toward the end. I put the settings in my tumbler for a final polish before setting the stone. A tumbler uses steel shot to roll around the jewelry with a little water and liquid cleaner. The shot has to be kept very clean to keep any residue from transferring to the metal. In this case, and I have no idea why, when I pulled the earrings out of the tumbler, there was some blue color on the silver...as you can see in one of the pictures, I left it...wish I knew exactly how to replicate it! (I can't guarantee the color will last forever; as you polish the earrings, it will likely come off.)
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