Posts tagged ‘sterling silver’

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Endlessly making jewellery

12 November 2011

Well, it feels a bit like that at the moment!

I’m spending very long hours every day at my bench as I prepare for upcoming markets and the festive season in general. I currently have a scarily long list of pieces to make!

I thought I’d share some photos of incomplete pieces and scrap, so you can see what’s been happening on and around my bench.

Saw pierced sterling silver.

Above is a saw-pierced piece of sterling silver with several designs ready to be cut out, including medieval arabesque earrings, the front panels of two Elizabethan cage pendants and a flannel flower earring.

Below is another sheet, also with designs ready to be cut out, including an art nouveau pendant and butterfly wing earrings.

Saw pierced sterling silver.

Finally here is a photograph of the sterling silver scrap I have accumulated over the last few months.

Scrap sterling silver.

Once this box is full of scrap which cannot be used in some other way, it will be sent to be refined and recycled into new silver sheet and wire, ready to be used all over again.

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New jewellery out now!

18 May 2011

Finally my new range of handmade jewellery has been launched – hooray! This range is a celebration of pattern and ornament, with decorative elements from different eras and cultures, often combined in a single piece.

You can check out the entire new range in my Australian jewellery shop and my International jewellery shop.

Below is an introduction to just some of my new jewellery range!

Elizabethan design cage pendant in sterling silver and gold.

This cage pendant features an intricate Elizabethan-inspired design which is hand cut in sterling silver. The interior of the pendant is gilded with 23ct gold foil (or 23kt if you’re in the US). You can also find it in my Australian shop.

Elizabethan cage ring in sterling silver and gold.   Elizabethan panel earrings in sterling silver.

Also see the cage ring and panel earrings from the same set (Australian shop: cage ring and panel earrings).

Etched circles dish ring with rhodolite setting.

This striking dish ring has been etched with a contemporary circles design and features a rhodolite gemstone setting. Also available in my Australian shop.

Etched and gilded sterling silver teardrop earrings.

These teardrop earrings are etched with an Elizabethan-inspired pattern which has been gilded with 23ct gold foil, creating a luminous gold texture. Also available in my Australian shop.

Chandelier earrings in sterling silver.

These sterling silver chandelier earrings are etched with a detailed damask pattern which has been given a matte brushed finish. Available in my Australian shop.

Etched gemstone cufflinks.

These contemporary cufflinks have been etched with a circles design. Each cufflink is set with a different gemstone – a faceted rhodolite and a faceted citrine. Also available in my Australian shop.

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Final sneak peek!

3 May 2011

I’m very close to finally having my new range of handmade jewellery fully made – I’ve been working very hard on it. Just a few more pieces to complete and then lots of photographing, writing and listing to do!

New handmade silver, gold and gemstone jewellery by Simone Walsh.

But in the interim I thought I’d share a final sneak peek with you of a number of finished pieces which will be part of the new range. You can find more photos on my Flickr.

New handmade silver, gold and gemstone jewellery by Simone Walsh.

New handmade silver, gold and gemstone jewellery by Simone Walsh.

New handmade silver, gold and gemstone jewellery by Simone Walsh.

Wish me luck for a couple of sunny days at just the right time so I can get my final photographs done!

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Sneak peek: partially finished jewellery

27 April 2011

Here’s another sneak peek at my new range of handmade jewellery. These are some partially finished pieces that I’ve been working on over the last several days. All are handmade in sterling silver.

Handmade jewellery

From this stage the components may go on to be domed, brushed, oxidised or completed in other ways before being assembled into finished jewellery.

Handmade jewellery components.

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Another sneak peek – etched silver

22 April 2011

I’m still working hard to finalise my new range of handmade jewellery – it’s getting close to being done! For now I thought I’d share some of the new etched patterns I’m going to be using.

Etched sterling silver sheets.

These patterns have been etched into sheets of sterling silver. The sheets will then be cut out into various designs before being turned into finished pieces of jewellery.

I hope to have more to share with you soon!

Etched sterling silver sheets.

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Shiny and new handmade jewellery!

20 July 2010

Finally my new range of handmade jewellery has been released into the wild. Hooray!

You can find the new collection in my Australian handmade jewellery shop and also in my international handmade jewelry shop.

Below you’ll find some photos and details of a few of the new pieces.

Handmade chain in sterling silver

Handmade chain in sterling silver with gold and gemstones - detail.

This sterling silver chain is entirely handmade in sterling silver – a very labour-intensive process!

The links are smaller than in my original handmade chain, so there are a lot more of them, but are made with sterling silver of the same thickness. Each link has been formed, soldered and then hammer-beaten to give it a sparkly finish.

Handmade chain in sterling silver with gold and gemstones.

The handmade chain is finished with a hammered 14ct gold link which features four ametrine gemstone beads and one amethyst bead, each suspended from a 14ct gold pin.

I’ve made a version of this chain for myself and I must say that it’s a joy to wear!

Butterfly wing pendant on chain

Butterfly wing pendant on chain.

This butterfly wing pendant is the deluxe version of a design that has been one of my most popular for a few years now. The wing has been intricately cut out by hand in sterling silver.

The new design is slightly longer and is suspended from a delicate sterling silver chain – something many customers have requested over the years.

It also features a sparkly, hammer-beaten ring in 14ct gold which holds two ametrine gemstone beads and one amethyst, all suspended from handmade 14ct gold pins.

Leaf and bud pendant and earrings

Leaf and bud pendant in sterling silver with gemstones. Leaf and bud earrings in sterling silver and garnet gemstones.

These leaf and bud earrings and leaf and bud pendant were inspired by a leaf spotted at the gorgeous Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens near to where I live.

The leaves have been cut out by hand in sterling silver. They have been hammer-beaten to give an organic shape and texture and have been finished with a brushed satin finish. The buds are beautiful pear-shaped faceted garnets.

The leaf and bud necklace is suspended from a delicate sterling silver chain which features three small green aventurine beads as highlights.

Seed pods necklace

Pods necklace in sterling silver with natural pearls.

This lovely seed pods necklace was inspired by a branch of pods spotted at the Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens.

The branch has been cut out by hand in sterling silver. It is suspended from a delicate sterling silver chain and features five small natural pearls as highlights.

Maidenhair fern pendant and earrings

Maidenhair fern pendant in matte sterling silver with gemstones. Maidenhair fern earrings in matte sterling silver.

Inspired by a native fern, these maidenhair fern earrings and maidenhair fern pendant have been cut out by hand in sterling silver. The leaves have been hammer-beaten to give them an organic shape and texture, before being given a matte white-ish finish.

The earrings are finished with handmade sterling silver ear wires. The pendant is suspended from a delicate sterling silver chain which features three small green aventurine gemstone beads as highlights.

But wait … there’s more!

I’ll share some more pieces soon, but you can see the whole range in my Australian shop or my international shop right now!

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More new handmade jewellery

12 September 2009

Yesterday I redid the jewellery photographs that I’d taken the previous day and I’m much happier with the results. So I’ve started listing more new work in my handmade jewellery shop.

Much of this work I had previously started but not resolved – some over a year ago! So I made an effort to go back to the pieces lurking around my bench and finally got them completed and ready to put into production.

Small ironwork pattern pendant by Simone Walsh.

This ironwork pattern pendant is a smaller, redesigned version of the ironwork pendant I have been making for some time. It is based on an antique ironwork pattern and has been intricately cut out of sterling silver.

The pendant is 1.6cm (0.63″) tall and wide and is suspended on a blackened sterling silver chain with handmade findings.

Ixora flowers pendant.   Ixora flower earrings.

These ixora flower pieces were inspired by the gorgeous bunches of ixora flowers in vibrant yellows and oranges that I saw in the lush tropical gardens of Bali.

The flowers are made in a metal called shibuchi. This is a Japanese alloy of 75% copper and 25% silver. Its colour varies from an golden-pink through to a light copper colour, depending much it has oxidised, meaning the colour of the pieces will vary over time as you wear them – and can of course be quickly cleaned of tarnish in silver dip to get back to the original colouring.

The ixora flowers pendant features five flowers suspended from a narrow oval of sterling silver so they hang in a cluster which changes depending on how the flowers fall. The pendant is on my favourite simple sterling silver chain with handmade findings.

The ixora flower earrings feature one flower per earring suspended from handmade sterling silver ear wires. They will swing as you move.

Damask cufflinks, sterling silver - by Simone Walsh.

I’ve also added two new pairs of cufflinks to my jewellery for men range. The above damask cufflinks feature my favourite damask-style pattern. The pattern has been blackened and then the piece has been tumbled to polish the entire cufflinks, but also to give the pattern a gunmetal grey type finish.

The other pair I’ve added have a very 1960s looking circles pattern on them. Visit my jewellery for men section (also in my Australian shop) to see more.

There is more handmade jewellery already listed and more yet still to come. For now you can check out everything that’s new in my handmade jewelry shop (prices in US$, delivery everywhere) or my handmade jewellery shop (prices in AU$, delivery to Australia and NZ).

I’ll post about more new pieces soon.

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Tumbling away

19 July 2009

I spent some time at my bench this weekend making some jewellery for one of my consignment outlets along with for my own stocks. And the results of my labour all needed to be tumbled in steel shot to become bright and shiny.

Handmade jewellery fresh from my new tumbler.
A batch of handmade jewellery fresh from my new tumbler.

Recently I purchased a sparkly new Lorotone tumbler to replace the wonderful but now old and slightly decrepit tumbler my Dad made for me years ago using bits from his shed).

It’s taking me a while to get used to the ways of my new tumbler. Because I’d used my old (and rather eccentric!) one for such a long time I knew exactly how much shot, water and tumbling compound it needed and exactly how long my work needed to be tumbled to get the result I wanted.

Of course my new tumbler is different and it will take me some experimenting to get those things right.

It’s been making me think about how very familiar we all become with the tools and equipment we use extensively. Changing those things can be a bit disorientating at times. But of course change can be a good thing!

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A little bit of gold for a whole lot of money

30 June 2009

Sometimes it feels a tad depressing to be working in a field where the cost of your materials is down to the sometimes extreme whims of a market which has absolutely nothing to do with what you make.

A small piece of 14ct gold in my hand.

At the moment both silver and gold are priced higher than they have been for a very long time. However, especially since the global economic crisis kicked off the price of gold has been going crazy as investors have been sinking their money into it, seeing it as a much safer bet than the stock market.

But as someone buying gold as a material to make jewellery with and not as an investment (or to make investment jewellery with), this is definitely unhelpful!

The photograph above is of a piece of 14ct gold (that’s 14kt for Americans) which is 0.5mm thick (0.02″) and 35mm tall and wide (1.4″). It set me back AU$245 (currently around US$200). Ouch!

Silver has also been going up and up for the past couple of years for all sorts of complex reasons. It is currently costing around double what it has done for most of my career. But to give an idea of how much more expensive gold is by comparison, 14ct gold is currently around 28 times more expensive per gram than sterling silver at trade cost.

Gold is a wonderful material to work with, but it does indeed hurt when a very small business like mine needs to purchase it.

As for what I’ll be making with my teensy little piece of gold … well I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete at this point. I have been using thinner gold as highlights in a few handmade jewellery pieces for a while now, but I would like to make some pieces where gold is more of a feature.

Stay tuned for details!

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Back to the studio

10 June 2009

Finally last weekend (which was a long one in Australia) I was able to get back to my jewellery bench, now set up in the studio space in my new home.

Sterling silver blossoms

I spent the weekend completing an order for the National Portrait Gallery shop in Canberra, along with making some urgently needed jewellery for my own supplies seeing as I’ve been badly running out of the jewellery in my shops.

Above are just a few of the little silver blossoms I cut out in sterling silver on the weekend. Each of them were then soaked to remove the paper (with the shape drawn on it), sanded, filed, tumbled and then finally turned into finished jewellery which was then tumbled again.

I seem to spend half of my life making these little blossoms as they form some of the most popular jewellery pieces I sell, so it was no surprise to spend my first weekend of making since moving doing yet more of them!

My jewellery studio.

As for how my new studio is working out, well so far so good! The space is almost fully set up, but there are a few loose ends to tidy up.

The only issue I found on the weekend was that the three large windows let in so much light (in spite of the room being painted so dark) that heating or soldering metal can be difficult because I can’t see what I’m doing! All I need to do is remember to pull a blind or two down before I start and it’s fine, however.

This is not going to be set up as my ‘dream studio’ seeing as I’m still renting and things like fume extraction, heavy equipment which should be bolted to the floor or heavy furniture, etc. are currently out of the question. But soon enough I hope to be working towards just that!

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Half a kilogram of silver

17 October 2008

Ever wondered what half a kilogram of sterling silver looks like? Well, okay, you probably haven’t. But now you know the answer!

Twenty pieces of sterling silver.

This is actually just under half a kilogram (479g to be exact – or 1.05 US pounds). Each of the sheets is 0.5mm thick and approximately 65mm tall and wide (that would be 0.02″ thick and 2.6″ tall and wide).

And of course each one of them will be used in making my handmade jewellery – in fact, some have been already!

I use a great deal of 0.5mm sterling silver sheet as it’s my favourite thickness to work with, so I’m always running out of the stuff. So this year I thought I would buy a chunk of it in the hope that this will see me through much of the busy festive season without me needing to dash back to my suppliers too frequently, while hoping that they have enough stock on hand whenever I need it.

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A busy weekend at the bench

26 August 2008

Yes, I have spent a lot of time at my bench over the last few days! Not to mention slaving away over a pot of etching solution.

Handmade jewelry by Simone Walsh.

I thought I would share the result of this hard work with you as all of this jewellery looks like an impressive amount all bundled up together! And this isn’t all of it – some has already been sent on its way in some orders.

Handmade jewellery by Simone Walsh.

Not all of the pieces are finished in the photographs – some of them have now been blackened or given a silver oxide finish. And of course various pieces need to be completed by being made into necklaces, hung on ear wires, etc..

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