hat pin

Fabricated Sterling.  Approximately 2 1/2 inches.

This is my take on the traditional Bavarian/Austrian hat pin.  I altered the traditional shape and the fastening mechanism.

The pin is designed to hold either a feather or a bundle of hair (goat and badger are typical).  It is held in place with a screw.

The downy feather is from a peacock.  I found it at a zoo.

Here is the pin and its pieces.

The threaded points are inserted into the hat, and the round nuts secure it from inside the hat.

star sapphire in sterling

Fabricated from 14 g Sterling and Star Sapphire.

The inspiration for this ring came while I was rereading Lilith by George MacDonald.  Here’s the section:

“The sun was very bright, but I doubted if the day would long be fine, and looked into the milky sapphire I wore, to see whether the star in it was clear. It was even less defined than I had expected. I rose from the breakfast-table, and went to the window to glance at the stone again. There had been heavy rain in the night, and on the lawn was a thrush breaking his way into the shell of a snail.
As I was turning my ring about to catch the response of the star to the sun, I spied a keen black eye gazing at me out of the milky misty blue. The sight startled me so that I dropped the ring, and when I picked it up the eye was gone from it. The same moment the sun was obscured; a dark vapour covered him, and in a minute or two the whole sky was clouded. The air had grown sultry, and a gust of wind came suddenly. A moment more and there was a flash of lightning, with a single sharp thunder-clap. Then the rain fell in torrents.”

Here it is in the sunlight.  The star is quite clear testifying to a sunny day.

Even without the sun revealing the star, the sapphire is quite enchanting.  Alas, I have yet to see an eye looking back at me from out of the stone.  I’ll keep looking, however.

The shank is rather heavy, 14 gauge.

jack-o-lantern pendants

Copper and Sterling. Just under an inch each. 

The copper sheets these are cut from I’ve had for more than 40 years. My father reclaimed the copper from a construction site he was working. Over the years I’ve used the copper for a variety of projects. These pendants seemed a good use also. Through time, the copper will patinate (tarnish) giving them an oranger glow.  Happy Halloween,

lapis pendent

Fabricated Sterling and lapis lazuli. Approximately 1 inch.

This is a brushed finish, giving it a bit of patina.  I thought it suited this piece well.

The image below shows the articulation.  I like to give the pieces movement.

 

 

This is the sketch I started with.

 

hanging garnet and aquamarine pendant 

Fabricated silver, garnet and aquamarine beads.  Approximately 1 1/2 inches.

A derivative of an older design (see the post dated June 11).  This is a commissioned piece.  I think it works.

Out in the sunshine showing a bit of the stones’ depth.

One more, a close up.  All the pieces pivot on the rivet going through the bail.

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