Start to Finish
Completing two gold hoop earrings and continuing my cathedral ring
After hours of meticulous polishing, I finished two Sunbeam Hoops orders this week. These are some of my favorite earrings in my collection and I’m so excited to have them out in the world!
Cast in 18 karat yellow gold, these bold hoop earrings’ streaming texture catches a warm, golden light - like beams from the sun. I love them because they are classically elegant but feel a bit undone and relaxed due to their organic shape.
I originally made the hoops using mitsuro hikime, a traditional Japanese wax and jewelry-making technique used for centuries. The mitsuro wax is best known for the ribboning it creates when warmed, folded, and pulled.
After casting the hoops in gold, I polished them to a radiant finish (the textured surface is quite challenging to polish as you have to reach every groove), soldered on the earring posts, then polished one last time.
I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to make these earrings for two lovely women and can’t wait for them to have them in their hands!
Cathedral ring
I made good progress on my cathedral solitaire ring, even earning an elusive “perfect!” comment from my Sensei as she inspected my bezel and prongs. As I mentioned last week, a cathedral style (ring shank arches upward toward the center stone) is very common and versatile. I am learning so much through this project about ring design and construction; for anybody also learning to make jewelry and wanting to advance technical skills, I think this is a very good early project.
After carefully soldering four prongs individually to the stone’s bezel seat, I returned focus to the body of the ring. I made the ring from a 2mm square wire (that I slightly rolled to flatten in one direction), so the edges were square - obviously not a comfortable ring shape! I drew symmetrical measurements on the ring and then filed it into a half rounded shape. My Sensei pointed out that giving the band a dramatic, high-domed look makes it cooler. Volume gives visual interest.
This project and my Sensei’s general guidance really highlight for me the importance of meticulous planning and measuring. High jewelry requires precision and discipline; often, taking extra time early to plan saves a lot of effort and headaches later.