Change-up
Fabricating a new pearl ring and soldering a cuff bracelet
One of the things I love about making jewelry is how flexible the process can be. You can have several projects in motion at once and switch between them as inspiration (or time) allows. This past week was quite hectic, so with limited studio time I decided to pause my cathedral engagement-style ring and instead spend a bit of time on two new pieces.
Current projects
My projects so far tend to fall into two main styles: one is highly organic and abstract, shaped freely in wax; the other is more structured and minimal, focused on clean lines and stone setting, fabricated directly in metal. I wanted to try a more artistic design, but with the sharpness of fabricated pieces.
Recently, I came across a beautiful pearl flower ring by Ryan Nelson London, which inspired me to create my own version with a sakura motif. I’m fabricating this piece entirely in metal, a new challenge that’s pushed me to measure and cut with extra precision. The upper flower, which opens gently around the pearl center, came together fairly easily, but shaping the cupped base beneath it proved trickier than expected. I made both from 0.8mm silver sheet metal and then used a hammer and doming block after cutting to create the curved shapes.
I originally planned to place the pearl and flower between a cathedral-style shank as a ring, but now I’m leaning toward making it a pendant. I’ll mull it over a bit!
A few months ago, I cast a small batch of delicate clovers in silver, thinking I’d eventually turn them into something wearable, but as often happens, they sat on my bench for a while as other projects took over. I finally revisited them and decided to bring the idea to life as a cuff bracelet.
The bracelet is mostly sterling silver, with the center clover made in 18-karat gold to add a subtle warmth and contrast. I love the way the mix of metals gives it an understated richness without feeling too polished or formal.
Let me tell you that soldering this many delicate pieces was a very nerve-wracking task! Any time you put heat on thin pieces there is a high risk of melting the metal. There’s still a bit of finishing work to do - a final round of polishing and perhaps some light texturing - but I’m quite pleased seeing it come together.
I think I’ll keep this one for myself. It’s simple, a little whimsical, and hopefully will bring me a bit of four-leafed luck!