Anna Lin

Admit it ladies, there is nothing better in life than the feeling of finding the perfect piece of jewelry. This will be the piece that makes your heart lighter, your appearance flawless and will finally attract the attention of the handsome bachelor two cubicles down who hasn’t even glanced your way since he started working with you a year ago. While it is unlikely that a piece of jewelry can solve all of these issues for you there is something comforting and confidence inspiring about wearing a beautiful piece of jewelry.

There is something even more inspiring about knowing that you shaped that piece of jewelry with your own hand. Those who have already learned how to turn their love of jewelry into a career will understand. At no other time will you be able to find a pendant, bracelet or earring set that suit you so perfectly than when you have created it yourself. It can be difficult, however, to learn the trade and, taking the theory, put it into practice.

Opal is one of the most sought after items for jewelry making due to its serene appearance and multiple facets of color. It appears as the ocean-as though the smooth appearance of its exterior is simply masking the other world underneath. Opal can be very difficult to work with. It is necessary to first have the proper tools. The easiest way to shape an opal is to use a flat lap machine with a polisher that will allow you to adjust the speed; opal is a soft stone, and excessive force will cause it to crack. This will ruin your masterpiece before you have even begun. A decent flat lap machine can be purchased for around five hundred dollars.

The purpose of the flat lap machine is to allow you to shape, smooth and polish your stone in one easy step. All you have to do is use the machine to shape your raw material into whatever shape you would like your pendant charm to be. The possibilities are endless; feel free to experiment. It may be wise to start your practicing on other, less expensive and less difficult stones to get the hang of it before you start using your opal. You can use these other stones for other projects later. Be sure that you take the proper safety measures when using your machine; the last thing that you want is to have an errant piece of opal go flying into your eye and ruining your vision so that you cannot focus on your masterpiece.

Once the stone is shaped it is time to turn it into a pendant. The easiest way to apply your charm to a chain is probably going to be to purchase a silver head pin, attach it to a loop and put it on a silver chain. There are hundreds of ways to finish a pendant, however; feel free to experiment!

There’s something about the cool white glow of a silver pendant, which has captivated our senses throughout human history. Since ancient times silver has been used to make coins, decorative items, and silver pendant jewelry, from this precious metal. It has maintained its popularity throughout the ages with artisans, due to its pliability as well as because of its strength.

There’s a lot that goes into the making silver pendants, from the time that it is brought up from the mine, to the time the silver pendant is sold on the general market. The silver pendant that is gracefully resting around your neck has gone through many transformations.  In most cases by the time the silver arrives to the artist, it is ready to be utilized in crafting jewelry according to what method he or she may choose.  The artist has a variety of options as to what form of silver he or she would like to work with. Often the artist is able to purchase pre -rolled sheets of silver in a variety of thickness or rolled wire in several different gauges and shapes, as well as silver blocks or scrap pieces of silver, that the artist uses to melt down and then pour into a mold, which is called casting.

Silver pendants can be made using different techniques, and can often represent the artist’s unique style.  One of the older forms of working with silver, because it is so soft, is to roll the silver out and then a rough shape, which will become the silver pendant, is cut out. Often the cut piece would be then pounded out with a mallet to flatten the silver and to temper it.  Silver pieces were also sometimes pounded over some kind form, which would give it shape and definition to the silver pendant. Pounded silver often has a very unique look to it because of the marks left by the mallet, it also ensures that each piece is one of a kind, and no one will have a silver pendant just like yours.

Another method, which is also very old, is called casting. Casting is when pieces of silver are melted down and then poured into a mold and allowed then to harden. The process of making the mold is an art form in itself and is commonly referred to as the lost wax method. The artist takes softened wax and basically sculpts the wax into the desired shape he/she wishes the finished silver pendant to be.

This is then placed into another mold, and plaster of Paris is then used to encase the wax sculpture, leaving an opening at the top. Once the plaster has dried it is then heated up enough to melt the wax within the plaster, leaving the shape of what will be the silver pendant inside.
The artist next melts the silver, until it becomes liquid than pours into the mold. Once the silver has solidified, the mold is then broken open and the silver pendant is then removed once it is cool enough to be handled.

The silver pendant is now ready to be finished with hand tools, such as filing down any burrs along its edges and then buffed and polished to the shining gleam we have come to expect with silver jewelry. Once completed the silver pendant is then ready to be packaged and sold on the market.