Aquamarine Silver Dangly Earrings

Hand crafted using traditional methods. The earring shapes were cut from sheet sterling silver with a piercing saw, then filed and sanded. Little pieces of sterling silver were melted to form the silver balls. The walls of the stone settings were created from strips of fine silver, cut and soldered into ovals to fit around the stone cabochons, then soldered to the earring shapes along with the silver balls and jump rings. 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. A patina was applied to oxidise the silver to darken it, before the final polish. The aquamarine 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 sterling silver beaded hook wire.