grossular garnet earrings – Argentium silver
I have made a sail shape ‘waves’ earring in Argentium silver – in the Water design group.
WATER * I Change * FLOWING FORMLESSNESS – Transformative – Playful – Balance – Passionate
Earrings are 7.7 cm long by 1.5 cm wide
They weigh 7.8 grams.
Argentium Silver is a high quality silver with a silver content of 940. Â It has the unique feature of having a small amount of Germanium added. Â Argentium Silver is whiter, harder and slower to tarnish. Â 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. Then I cut out matching shapes of silver for an earring pair. I always make my earrings in pairs, so that the final earrings are a ‘mirror’ pair – a left and right earring.
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 can lay out silver waves and granules to mimic the water and pebbles of a beach shore, and fuse then them in place.
Then I like to ‘dap’ these little silver pieces. I gently bend the silver into a cup or dome shape. This makes the silver three dimensional, instead of flat silver.
For post earrings I solder on 20 gauge Argentium silver wire. This is the standard post thickness and fits the Argentium silver butterfly perfectly.
For a dangle earring I either drill a hole for the ear wire, or solder on a connecting loop, with which to attach either ear wires or gemstone dangles.
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.
I check that the shape is perfect, and polish out any scratches or marks from the work process. Then I tumble for work hardening and to polish the Argentium silver to a bright, white finish.
These Argentium silver pieces have been textured, edges rolled, waves and granules soldered on, dapped, polished, work hardened and baked.
And, finally, the silver earrings are ready for gemstones.
Every earring goes through this entire process. It is one of my favourite designs and I enjoy making them.
