Hoops & Turquoise Earrings

Hand crafted using traditional methods. Little pieces of sterling silver were melted to form the little silver balls. The stone settings were created by creating rings of fine silver bezel strip to fit around each stone cabochon, which were then soldered to sheet sterling silver, along with the little silver balls. These were then cut round with a piercing saw, filed and sanded. Two hoops were created from sterling silver wire, the ends soldered, shaped on a mandrel and texture applied by hammering. The stone settings were then soldered to the hoops and jump rings were soldered to each one. The pieces were then placed in a warm pickling solution to remove fire scale caused by the blow torch, followed by lots of cleaning and polishing to give the earrings their lovely shine. The turquoise stones were then placed in the settings and the silver bezel pushed over the top to hold them in place and the settings burnished before hanging each one on a hook wire.