cross 

Sterling and 14k gold.  Approx. 4.5 inches.

A wedding gift for my son and his wife.  This fairly traditional cross was constructed from two pieces of heavy-gauged square Sterling wire with a bail of 14k gold wire.  It required quite a bit of hand work to get the edges square and sharp.  In order to keep the cleanness I did all the polishing by hand using increasingly finer gritted sand paper then polishing compounds on leather then flannel.  Sometimes the pieces that look the simplest require the most effort.

Detail highlighting the join and the bail.

How it looks on a wall.

 

chi rho

Sterling.  Approx. 3.5 inches.

The Chi Rho is an ancient symbol of the person Christ.  It is a monogram formed with the first two Greek letters of the name Christ, a chi and a rho.   This particular one is a wall cross designed and constructed for our godson and his new wife on the occasion of their wedding.  It’s made of a single strip of Sterling silver.  The whole has been patinated with only the surface polished.  I was going for a bold type-face look.

Dutch coffee spoons

Dutch coffee spoons, fabricated Sterling and 14k gold, approximately 5 1/2 inches.

These are the latest addition to the Dutch coffee spoon collection.  They are meant to be “everyday” spoons, unique to the individual, and part of the morning routine.

The detail on the left shows the “vine” embellishment of one and the bowl of the other.  On the right is the opposite end of each.  This end is embellished with a 14 gold knob.


The reverse of both.

lapis pendant 

Fabricated Sterling and lapis cabochon.  A little over an inch long.

This is a piece from a while back.  I was looking through some of my previous work to find some I could use as gifts, and ran across this again.  I had forgotten about it.  A single piece serves as the bail and holds the stone.  It articulates at the rivet that holds it and the horseshoe shaped wire.  I seem to include movement in many of the pieces.

This close up shows the details.  The lapis is a nice piece with a gold fleck (not so visible here) near the center.

I’m trying to show the scale here.

Another view.

And one more, showing how it is worn suspended from a chain.  Let me know what you think.

another belt


Fabricated Sterling and leather. The belt, cut from a vegetable tanned cowhide, is just over an inch wide. The buckle is a complete circle. Next to the leather keep is a Sterling wire oval. It’s not functional but looks good.


Detail of the buckle.  Copper rivets were used to attach and secure the buckle.

Here’s the reverse of the buckle.


Bar and hanger embellishment.


The reverse of the bar showing rivet attachments.

  

An additional embellishment. This is a peridot cabochon. 

 

Detail of the placement. 

 
The reverse showing the riveting.   

 

The whole belt for context. 

   

Two more because I like the way it looks. How do you not love it? 

belt hanger

Fabricated silver.  Just over an inch long.

Here’s how it functions for me, although, any number of things could be suspended from it.  The idea is based on a medieval practice.  At that time they primarily were used to hang purses (in lieu of pockets).  When wearing a waistcoat the button holes provide the means to anchor a pocket watch chain.  This belt hanger will work when there are no serviceable buttons available.

Detail in which the rivet and decorative ring are very visible.