amethyst cage pendant – Argentium silver waves – 35 carat
I use this design for larger stones. The chain goes thru the ‘bars’ making the pendant more stable and balancing the height of the stone. This pendant is a ‘wave’ design from our Water design group.
This Amethyst is a natural gemstone in an oval cut – 35 carats.
Pendant is 4.5 cm long by 3.7 cm wide.
The weight is 23.5 grams.
WATER * I Change * FLOWING FORMLESSNESS – Transformative – Playful – Balance – Passionate
Pendant comes on a Sterling silver Round box chain – 20″ long.
Argentium Silver is a high quality silver with a silver content of 940. It has the unique feature of having a small amount of Germanium added. Argentium Silver is whiter, harder and slower to tarnish. And it is always nickel-free.
For the ‘waves’ design (in the Water Design group) I start by imprinting Argentium silver sheet with sand – for a nice beach texture.
Next, with the softest torch, I roll the edges of the sand-textured silver pieces. I carefully and gently melt the edge, just until the silver begins to ‘roll’.
Once I have the soft edges done, I lay out silver waves and granules, to mimic the water and pebbles of a beach shore, and then fuse them permanently in place.
For the ‘cage’ design I make two matching plates. First, I make a bezel that perfectly fits the gemstone and solder it to the top plate. Then I solder the top plate and bottom plates to the bars – making a ‘cage’.
With one final check, I make sure the shape is perfect, and I polish out any scratches or marks from the work process. Then I tumble for work hardening and polishing.
Argentium silver has one extra step. It must be heated. This brings the Germanium to the surface to protect the silver – slowing down tarnish and creating a very white, scratch resistant surface.
This Argentium silver pendant has been textured, edges rolled, waves and granules fused on, bezel attached, bars attached, polished, work hardened and baked.
Now the gemstone can be set into the bezel. To bezel set a stone I make sure the bezel walls are exactly the right height then I carefully bend the silver over the stones edge. Bezel settings are the most secure and protective way to set a gemstone.
A final polish to smooth out the bezel edge and make the silver ‘mirror finish’ shiny, and the pendant is ready to be enjoyed for years to come.
