Monday, October 11, 2010

Larimar Necklace #5

This post is part of a series answering just how I do what I do. I'm constructing this piece in conjunction with my blog posts. Last time I left off with attaching jumprings to hold the chain.
 
Setting the Stone
At this point I'm in the home stretch! All the soldering steps are complete and I've trimmed most of the excess silver with my coping saw and have done some filing/sanding. All this manipulation has caused a little work hardening of the silver so I decided to heat the piece again to soften the bezel before setting the stone.
 
I haven't mentioned it before, but after soldering steps or using flame on silver I put my piece in a pickle. I bought my pickle pot from target for $5! Once it soaks for a bit, I remove my piece and rinse it in a water and baking soda solution to neutralize the acidic solution.
To set the stone, I simply put it into place and use burnishing tools (pictured left) to gently bend the bezel over the stone...it sort of 'hugs' the stone and securely holds it  in place.
 Top views after setting the stone...
Side views...
If you recall from my sketch, I debated putting some larimar beads in the chain. After thinking on it I wanted to do something to add a little more visual interest since it is such a simple setting. I was thinking possibly an asymmetric twist, but as it turns out larimar beads I have are a bit greener then this beautiful blue larimar. So they just didn't fit. Stay tuned to see what I decided on to finish this piece once and for all! 

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