What do you think of this new peice?

[pearlescence]

Oh good, I thought it might just be me...!

 

[waimeamomi]

Iʻd like to see it on someone. One thing I do frequently when I have a wire wrap exposed and a piece like that is to make it very tight, and then cover it with a crimp cover. They come in different sizes and you can get them in 14K. It gives it a more finished look, and on this piece a round bead there might just balance out the piece. The nice thing about a piece like that is you can keep fooling around with it until you get it right!

 

[richipat]

Very unique. I like the simplicity of the simple wire setting -- shows off the pearl.

 

[waimeamomi]

Thatʻs a fact. Lotʻs of creative people with ideas. I know when I see something cool like that, I want it to play around with it. Iʻve seen pearls like that and couldnʻt get my head around it. Seeing this one on its perch made me think. The first thing I wondered was what it would look like upside down. Now I see the bird!

 

[GemGeek]

Lots of creative ideas!

 

[nlerner]

What would you both do instead? What kind of setting would fit a pearl like this? What setting would better showcase the pearl?

I think that I know what's wrong with this "fertility amulet" pearl pendant.
The chain and the setting is a bit too airy, too anemic for this interesting, with a statement, pearl.
I would prefer a thicker chain, like the 22kt. hand woven chains of Care Ehret and a thicker, setting connected to the same drilled points.

What do you think?

 

[Mikeyy]

I'll have to remember to post pics of big loose baroque pearls here. Just for design suggestions.

 

[jerin]

Could the designer have been Jennifer

 

[knotty panda]

What would you both do instead? What kind of setting would fit a pearl like this? No cap would work... the pearl is too long to be center-drilled (it must be 25 to 30 mm in length), it was clearly drilled just above the nucleus... You can tell the triangle is not a standard bale. It was wrapped from a piece of wire to fit the pearl.

What setting would better showcase the pearl?

The pearl is too compelling to be ignored and working with it's shape, I'm not sure any other setting would work well, which is why I said it may be the best choice.

 

[pearlescence]

Hmmmm. perhaps if the pearl had been drilled through its top-knot then that could have been wire wrapped with a turn of wire going down the pearl in a spiral to sort of hide the boobs etc, and maybe finishing with another pearl dangling off underneath.

 

[Heidi]

I like your creativity, Wendy. I've seen some pieces where the pearl is captured in the wire more than just hanging from it and always enjoy the difference.

 

[pearlescence]

Thank you. I know someone on Manchester markets who winds wire round pearls much better than I do - mine look like a tangle rather than an artistic enmeshment.
I can see what I would like to do, but I don't think I could do it.
I am going to try to remember long dormant silversmithing techniques this weekend hopefully, to put an end blob onto the cut ends of used long head pins so that they can be used (waste not!) - any tips, anyone?

 

[laurenb]

I think many of the complaints about the triangle could be resolved by setting it similarly, but in white gold. I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think yellow gold ever flatters light-colored pearls. White gold or platinum has the advantage of being similarly light in color and thus making the luster of the pearl the focal point. Ah well, everyone has a different aesthetic.

 

[J Marcus]

From Pearlescence:
"I am going to try to remember long dormant silversmithing techniques this weekend hopefully, to put an end blob onto the cut ends of used long head pins so that they can be used (waste not!) - any tips, anyone?"

Sure--affix the pins as absolutely vertical as possible, use the smallest, very hot flame that will reasonably melt the end and bring it up from the bottom at an angle a few degrees off from vertical. It helps if you can grip it by a steel tweezers about 7 or 8 mm above the bottom. It will act as a heat sink and help keep the blob from progressing too far. Too close and they may leave dents in the heat softened silver. Even that small a blob is affected by gravity and certainly is affected by the heat coming from the side rather than underneath. However, a perfectly vertical flame may melt more than you bargained for. Experiment with the amount of angle of the flame to get it right and go easy on that small wire. Use a good flux.

Good luck!
Marc
http://www.flyrodjewelry.com/home.html

 

[pearlescence]

Thanks - I did just about that and did a few hundred in an afternoon in the garden - the flame plus flux etc set off the smoke alarms. Now I have to get around to polishing them....always the tedious side of silversmithing