Reticulation is a technique that creates a wonderful texture, but it’s a contrary one! I take sheet sterling silver, heating and quenching a dozen times, which depletes the surface of the copper within the sterling alloy.
After the final quench I heat the silver again, melting the now pure silver layer, until I get the effict I want. It is very much the cheese-on-toast method of creating jewellery, and just like toasting cheese, blink for a second and there’s disaster!!
I made a pair of these from a failed bangle attempt and wore them on holiday, to a lunch and then a conference. At each event someone asked if I was stocking them yet.
So, here’s a range.
See the final photo for the difference in the surfaces, and remember that, as with all my jewellery, no two pairs will be identical because not only am I sawing and filing them by hand, I’m also playing with fire to create the texture
These are 25mm long,with the post soldered at 5mm
As always, if I'm making a pair especially for you, then I can adjust these elements, or use Argentium for the earwires.
Please factor in about a week for me to make a special pair just for you as this pair have sold
The exception to the rest of my jewellery, the leverback finding is somethign I buy in, and at present I'm using up my stock of standard sterling silver (as opposed to certified recycled). The rest of the earring elements are fully recycled sterling silver
These aren’t hallmarked as they are well below the legal assay weight of 7.78g
Reticulated, Sterling Silver Stud Earrings - Bar
Sterling Silver will eventually oxidise or tarnish. It's a natural process that can be slowed down by regular wear and by keeping unworn items away from the atmosphere. If you leave your jewellery out on display, this oxidisation will be faster. You can polish up your items, with a soft cloth, some silver polish, or a buffing cloth such as Town Talk, which is readily available from any high street jewellers in the UK
Fine silver is 99.9% silver, and because of this the tarnish rate is much, much slower. Again, a buff should do the job for polishing it back up. If I have patinated your silver already, be gentle when buffing!
Each piece should stand up to regular wear, but , as with all jewellery, please remove it before washing, using chemicals or applying perfume etc
Apply body lotion and perfume a few minutes before putting on your jewellery to help slow down tarnish
The sterling silver used in these items was sold to me by my bullion dealer ass certified recycled.
he gemstones I use have been sold to me by reputable dealers as untreated (unless stated specifically in the listing). They are a natural, organic creation from the earth and each one will be slightly different. You can see examples of this on my Facebook page.
I select the stones that I think go together best for each project, hence my comments that each item is individual.