Fun New Tool

This lazy Susan soldering pad is new to me and I really like it. I discovered it watching Revere On Goldsmithing: Project 2: Reticulated Wedding Band. Revere used it when soldering three bands together to make a two tone wedding band. I decided to buy this as soon as I saw it. What is nice is that I have already used it and am really happy with it. I hate it when I buy tools and then find out that I really don't need them. I found this soldering pad really helpful when I was fabricating the under gallery for the Hope Diamond Pendant that is in my last post. I learned something else really cool from that Revere video too. I learned how to make a tripod with the tails of my binding wire. It was a really nice trick. It sure helped me out putting that large piece together. I get so excited when I discover news tricks! Just so you know, that lazy Susan soldering pad was around $19.00.

The Hope Diamond Pendant Replica

I finished my replica of the Hope Diamond Pendant! This is a piece that I was commissioned to make. I am very happy with how it turned out. It ended up being a lot of fun to put together. I cast the center head and fabricated the rest of it together. It is made of sterling silver and the white stones are pear and asher cut czs.

Oregon Sunstone Pendant

I just finished this pendant for a friend. It has been on my bench for a while now, and I am very pleased that it is finally finished! One more week until Spring break. I am really hopeful that I will get a lot of new pieces made over the break!

Jewelry CAD

My husband is currently taking a semester long Jewelry CAD course at the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology! In this class they use Gem Visions Matrix program to create their designs. After they create their designs on the computer they can send them to the wax mill to become finished wax models. I am really excited about this process. I love hand carving wax models, and think I will always have many designs that I choose to carve by hand, but it is nice to have this option for difficult designs. For example, there are some pieces that I make by hand piercing designs out of silver sheet. The and piercing is really time consuming so to eliminate that step my husband used Jewelry CAD to make me some models. He made them on the heavy side so we can cast them in brass and make rubber molds. Then I can make as many pieces as I want in any metal in the future. I can still hand engrave the finished pieces to give them that extra special hand made feel that I like to have in all of my work.

Great Jewelry Design Book!

A friend showed me this really neat jewelry design book and I just love it! It is called "Jewelry Making and Design," by Augustus F. Rose and Antonio Cirino. What I love about this book is that it has 325 illustrations!!! It is an excellent resource for design ideas and inspiration! The other thing I love is the price, I got mine for around $6.00 on Amazon!

Momo is so great at helping me grade my students projects! The only thing is that he always falls asleep!!!

The Hope Diamond!!

Here is one crazy project that I am working on right now. It is a replica of the Hope Diamond Pendant. I am using a lab created stone that was faceted to be the same size and proportions as the Hope diamond. I carved a very large head for the stone and am going to fabricate the rest of the elements around the head. It is going to be made out of Sterling Silver to cut costs. Can't wait to finish this project!!!!