Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Creating Settings for Roman Coins

A long time ago I was asked by my mother to fix a pair of earrings. But because they had patinaed Roman coins bezel set in them, I decided to recreate the settings. I started off with this:
First thing to do was measure where I wanted the bezel, and where I wanted to open the backs.

After measuring I sawed out part of the silver disk to both lighten it and allow the backs of the coins to be seen. I then polished the disks lightly because I would be sautering the bezel on soon.

I created the bezels using fine silver, before sautering on the the disks i need to check that the coins fit.

Sautering.


Once I had everything attached  I had to polish. Polishing around the beads was difficult, but I got it. Finally, I set the coins and gave one last polish.

The final earrings are a little rough, and the beads do not match each other perfectly. But, the coins themselves don't match each other, and are rather rough. I wanted to give it that slightly imperfect look.


Monday, October 4, 2010

The gallery







Druzy Quartz set with Diamonds and Silver

Silver heart with movable wings

Silver and Sapphire Pendant
Silver Art Neuvo Style Pendant with Gold Embelishments

The Final Product

After setting silver into the stone, I created a bezel and ring for it. It is like an organic cocktail ring.
I am quite happy with the result. From a lowly beach stone, to art.