Designing: Sterling Silver and Ruby Hoops
Apr 30th, 2009 by admin
These earrings very nearly got the better of me, but they were totally worth it. I bought a stack of hoop earrings at the gem show at the start of the month with absolutely no idea what to do with them (impulse shopping is a big problem when everything is so shiny!). I first thought I’d make similar earrings to these amethyst hoops, but I wanted to try something a little different.
I decided I’d try wrapping chain to the inside of the hoops, so started coiling wire around the edges. The damn stuff wouldn’t hold still; slipping around the edges of the hoops freely. I considered just wrapping the full length in wire, and hooking the chain in where it was needed, but I love the look of the simple silver and felt a full wrap would distract from the intended finish.
After a few attempts with lots of frustration and muttering, I tried making marks in the hoops to create some friction for the wire. Still no luck! Finally, I filed down the silver and punched holes with the tip of a wire cutter. Now I could hook the end of a piece of wire in to anchor it there!
Once the chain was in place I started looking for beads to add. I tried apatite first, which I still think would have looked gorgeous, but the briolettes were too long and ran into the next layer of chain. After digging around for a while…ruby! A few wrap, cuts and re-wraps, and the spacing looked perfect. With one earring done, I went on to painstakingly match up the second earring. I always tell my chain maille students that counting is completely overrated. If you can’t eyeball it, it’s not worth doing. These earrings made me eat those words, as even 1-2 links of chain difference had a significant impact in the layout.
And now they’re complete, and I’m simply in love! They’re so light, you’ll hardly notice them, and large enough for a incredible impact.
See the Sterling Silver and Ruby Earrings here.
Hello, you have a lovely blog- I see why you came up as number 7. I really like your jewelry and other posts.
They are really gorgeous. They kind of look like spiderwebs with dewdrops (albeit red dewdrops) hanging along the strands. Oooh… clear crystals would make them look even more like that!
[...] a month or two to get right – whether it’s a piece that doesn’t look quite right, or a technical issue that needs solving. This chain maille bracelet had a bit of [...]
[...] figure out how to wrap onto the hoops after making the ruby hoop earrings, so attaching the chain was much easier this time around. I spent a long time looking in the [...]