Very cool, Stracci. What a great idea!
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Thanks, everyone! Your opinions mean a lot to me.
@Ziacat Maybe I’ll find a similar cuff at a pawn shop one day. Strange things happen, you know!
@StevesTrail I love to recycle jewelry!
Every time I looked at this watchband, I knew I would change it someday.
@Patina @mmrogers It seems like a simple idea, but it took me days to decide on a solution to this problem!
I wanted to keep it a bracelet, but suddenly the pendant idea came into my head.
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I think it’s a great idea. You could start a business turning watch tips into pendants. Watch tips are not that popular since the advent of cell phones. In order to sodder the two pieces together, do you have to heat up the entire piece and therefore take out the stones?
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@nanc9354
Yes, I had to remove the stones.
In order for the solder to melt, the whole piece has to be heated to around 1200°, so stones must be removed.
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I came up with this one today. I was experimenting with textures. I fused silver shavings onto the band for a rough look.
The stone is stabilized #8.
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Love the beautiful simplicity of it. And the band, perfect!
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Thanks @Ziacat!
I didn’t really have a plan for this one, I kinda made it up as I went along!
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I like everything about your new ring. The texture is very attractive. Thank you for sharing it with us.
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What a beautiful turquoise cab. I’d say that your texture experiment is a success! That’s a very nice ring.
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Thanks @Patina and @here4turquoise !
I never know if a project is going to turn out ok.
But I keep trying!
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years ago (1980’s) I found a strange silver cigarette case that looked like it survived an inferno yet it retained its shape and worked as intended.
Was gonna scrap it for the silver value but never got around to it and it just hung around in one of my junk drawers.
Years later (internet & ebay invented) I took another look at it & discovered the world of “samorodok reticulation”
https://www.ganoksin.com/article/reticulation-ridges-and-ripples/
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Love the simplicity of the ring, and reticulated shank, Stracci. As always, clean, well composed, beautifully done!
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@StevesTrail
Thanks Steve! Sometimes I think a “busy” stone needs something more simple.
@Steve thanks for the article! Ganoskin is a great resource. I have played with this wrinkled style of treatment, but never used it in a piece. I will definitely try this in the future!
@mmrogers
Thanks Mike, for your kind words and encouragement. I really value your opinion.
I try to get better with each project, and I enjoy trying new styles and treatments.
I think you guys know that after my one class with a sweet lady from Zuni, I am self taught.
So any new things I try are all experiments!
Or as Bob Ross says “happy accidents”!
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@Stracci, thank you for showing us your new ring and how it was put together. I always enjoy seeing the component parts and steps towards completion; in my eyes that makes it all the more intriguing and special! It’s strikingly lovely, both the #8 stone and that gorgeous textured band.
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@Steve , I’m so glad you didn’t scrap that cigarette case! Of course I went right off and googled “samorodok”. One page says the process was popular in Russian (hence its Russian name) and “was widely used by famous silversmiths [such] as Fabergé”. I think it’s highly attractive!
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I have a box with that kind of wrinkled texture on it as a backdrop for a Crow Mother. I don’t have a very good picture of it though!
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the box did have a few “issues” that needed to be addressed by the new owner & I was happy it was going to someone who would restore it.
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Lately, my rings don’t fit well due to swelling from arthritis.
This is very upsetting to me. I know, first world problems…
So today I made one with an adjustable shank.
I cut the stone into two pieces, because there was an ugly pit in the middle of it, and I knew I’d never use it that way.
I don’t have lapidary tools, just a Dremel tool, but it worked out ok!
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