Week 11: Breakthrough
Successful prototypes, polishing improvement, and pieces "just for me"
“How did you go bankrupt?”
“Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
This line of dialogue from Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises, is often quoted for disastrous situations. But I think the concept holds true in positive contexts too.
Change happens slowly with sporadic leaps. Like how every day is the same unless you compare your life today with your life five years ago.
This past week of my jewelry journey felt like a leap forward. I finally made a prototype of a heart pendant to gift to my friend that I really like and I figured out how to polish my jewelry better.
Learning to make jewelry for the past 3 months entailed ups, downs, and in-betweens (as you’ll see in the pieces good enough “just for me” further below). But it’s been exciting this week to experience a lot of ups!
Success!
I shared a few weeks ago that I visited a small studio outside Tokyo to learn about Mitsuro Hikime, a traditional Japanese wax used to make jewelry.
My first silver pieces designed in the wax are complete and I am very happy with the results! They look unique and, in my opinion, have a lot of visual interest due to the wax’s signature ribboning.
I’m particularly excited about the heart pendant. I plan to gift a gold version of it to a friend for her wedding (sadly the design is too ornate for a mold… so it is a one-of-a-kind that I will try and replicate again!). I’ve designed various potential hearts for her over the past 3 months but I think this one is it!
I love the fluidity of the pieces and that they are quite different from what you can find at most jewelry stores. I will definitely continue to create with Mitsuro Hikime.
Polishing breakthrough
At long last, I finally figured out a way to independently achieve a mirror finish on my pieces!
Sanding and polishing remain a thorn in my side, but at least I can get the desired result after a bit of elbow grease. Of course there is still room for improvement, but I was immensely satisfied when I saw the shiny surface peek through beneath my polishing burr.
The finishing touches on a piece are extremely important. Everything could be great but if the polish (no pun intended) isn’t there, a piece doesn’t look professional.
Just for me
So far, everything I make is for me with the exception of the pendant for my friend.
But there are a few pieces in particular that I describe as “just for me” in that I like them enough to wear, but don’t love enough to gift or sell. I thought it would be interesting to share these learnings in addition to my triumphant breakthroughs above.
Particularly for detailed pieces, a lot of definition gets lost while every imperfection still shows. Realistic flowers are tough to polish without grinding away character. You can see in the photos above that the petals don’t look intentional and clean.
The dachshund turned out relatively well, but I need to refine the hole where the chain will go through as it is asymmetrical and has a bump at the base.
I’m trying to be productively critical of my work. I started using a loupe (magnifier) to examine pieces for imperfections and I am more open to redoing pieces that don’t turn out well. If I want to gift or eventually sell pieces professionally, then I need to keep raising my standards!