Ivy Leaf Silver Stud Earrings

Hand made using traditional methods. The ivy leaves were drawn by hand and cut from sheet sterling silver using a piercing saw. They were then filed and sanded with abrasive paper to smooth the edges and remove scratches. The little leaves were then soldered onto a second sheet of silver, and then cut around, and again filed and sanded to smooth the edges. Posts were soldered to the backs and then the pieces were placed in a warm pickling solution to remove the fire scale caused by the blow torch. Next they were cleaned and patination was added to darken the back plates and make the relief design stand out. Finally, the leaves were polished to give them a lovely shine.