In January I started a jewellery course with silver. The
evening course runs over 12 weeks. Every week I have a class of 2h based on
learning by doing. I learn the different techniques by immediately applying
those to create my own designed pieces of jewellery. My first design was this ‘Earth
and Moon’ ring.
I wanted to
create an open ring with a cabochon. Quickly I decided for the silver Moon and
the blue Earth. The distance between the Earth and its only permanent satellite is 384000 km. I selected the Lapis
Lazuli, which literally means ‘blue stone’. The Lapis Lazuli is one of the most
sought after stone in human’s history. It is a combination of lazurite, calcite,
sodalite and pyrite with small amounts
of other minerals. The deep blue stone has time less associations with royalty
and deities. It is also considered as universal symbol of wisdom and truth.
1st week
Measuring
finger to determine ring size. To create a closed ring with a diameter of 17.5
mm a wire of about 55 mm is needed. As I wanted to have an open design I only
cut a 51 mm long piece of a 3 mm thick silver wire. Shaping ring by hammering
wire on a ring mandrel. Twisted the ring slightly so that moon and earth stand
tilted to each other. Flattening one
wire end. Cutting of moon from silver plate. Applying borax to the areas that
should be joined to limit oxidation. Placing the ring on top of the moon.
Adding two pieces of silver solder (type
5) and soldering the wire to moon. Cooling
down the ring in water. Cleaning the
ring in a sulphuric acid, called the ‘pickle’. Rinsing the ring with water.
2nd week
Sanding of
moon to improve its shape. Flattening the moon on the inside to remove sharp edges and increase the comfort
on the finger. Stamping out a silver plate with a diameter of 8 mm. Cutting a
piece of silver wire. Flattening the wire with a roll mill. Shaping the wire to
a ring which fits the stone. Trimming of unnecessary wire. Sanding the edges
and closing the small ring. Soldering the ring using silver solder type 3. Sanding
the other end of the big ring.
3rd week
Soldering
the big ring to the silver plate using silver solder type 5. After cooling and
taking the acid bath the small ring was soldered to the silver plate using
silver solder type 3. Three small solder pieces were placed on the inside of
the ring. The different types of solder are flowing at different temperatures.
As the big ring is made of a thick wire it has to be heated up longer until it
glows. The smaller pieces cannot be heated up so much as they would simply melt.
4th week
Trimming and
sanding the edges of the silver plate. Sanding the inside of the stone mount. Sanding
a small chamfer around the mount. Polishing the ring. Placing the Lapis Lazuli.
Forming the mount to ensure a safe fixation of the stone.
