Another hobby of mine: Jewelry

For the past couple of years, I've been making jewelry alongside my wife (who's been doing it for quite a bit longer). Mostly, I work with chainmaille, though I am slowly branching out into other styles.

I just finished a piece of which I am particularly proud. Unfortunately, the colors don't show up quite right. I was playing with different camera settings to try to get the effect of anodized niobium's colors, as well as the color of the labradorite, and it didn't really work out all that well. But at least you can see the design of the piece. I will get better at this digital photography thing (I should use my film camera and then scan the pics. They'll turn out better), and future pictures will show more detail.

 

Oooooh! Very pretty!

 

Very nice!

 

Oh lala.

 

Very nice!

 

nice pieces. Looks like they have some great color in them.,

 

Very nice!

 

Those stones are divine. I adore green, in all its limitless variations. Not a lover of heavy chains on the nape, but from shoulders down is great. Your finish is lovely.

 

That looks beautiful! I can't imagine the work it takes to make something so intricate.

 

Thanks, folks. Honestly, that one is made of a pretty simple weave. Chainmaille often looks intricate, even when it's very straightforward. The biggest difficulty of this piece was working with tiny rings. That can get frustrating at times. Still, I really like it. Sometimes, the simplest weaves are the most attractive.
Also, as far as the stones go, they came out more green in the photo than they are naturally. They're normally a pale greyish blue with a rainbow sheen to them.

 

The biggest difficulty of this piece was working with tiny rings.

Well I guess you are just the Lord of the Rings!

 

Type of stone?

 

labradorite. so what's the metal?

 

Thanks Jeri, should have spotted that.

 

Metal is niobium. Half of it is anodized, half is not. In its unanodized state, it's a dark silvery-grey color. Anodized (which means that heat, chemicals and/or electricity have been used to create a layer of colored oxide on the surface of the metal) niobium is extremely temperamental. With aluminum, you can get very specific colors. With titanium, there is a bit of color wash, especially if you use heat. With niobium, you get a range of colors in every batch. While you can't have a purely blue or green or pink set of rings, you do get some very beautiful color shifts. This batch ranges from peacock blue to a purple color in a very beautiful way.

Also, while I am not the Lord of the Rings, I do get my stock from the Ring Lord. ;D

There is also some blue apatite in the piece. It's not as obvious in the picture, because they're really tiny beads (5mm, I think). They're in the links to either side of the labradorite squares.

 

I would love to get you to some of the wholesale shows over in North Carolina.
You would be like a kid in a candy store.
Of course, I would be along to be the responsible adult, ewww shiny!!!!!!

 

*eyes go wide* Yeah. That'd be dangerous.
You should see my wife and I in any bead store that specializes in precious and semi-precious gems.

 

Probably very similar to me when I see gems in the rough or fossils.

 

Beautiful SDS!

Ken

 

A few more examples of my jewelry

Decadent Phoenix, the first in a set of jewelry based on the Great Houses in Steven Brust's work. Made of out enameled copper, Swarovskis, and glass:



Flutterby, made of silver, mother of pearl, and blue apatite:



The earrings on the left are Dreams from R'lyeh, made of silver, Swarovskis, and pearls. The middle are butterfly weave, made of anodized aluminum (my wife's work). The right are angels (also my wife's work):

 

Very nice!