Silver swirl and seaglass drops

Have taken a break recently due to other commitments.  This hammered swirl was lying around for some time waiting to be finished, but I wasn't quite sure what it needed.  Sometimes you just have to walk away or doodle a bit to find inspiration.  In the end I chose 3 small seaglass pebbles, and drilled and threaded them onto 1mm diam silver wires.

I've finally sourced some relatively cheap diamond-coated hand files, plus riffler files and drill bits.  I've resolved never to buy through specialist suppliers again for tools as it's almost always possible to find cheaper alternatives.  One thing I won't compromise on though, is saw blades; the cheap ones just snag and/or snap constantly.

Had an idea for a seaglass "cabochon" with fidget rings - not sure where I saw it originally, possibly on Etsy.  Thank you to whoever had the idea.  See next post...

Necklace, hammer finish

Necklace/large pendant to match the earrings below. 
I had something of a dilemma when it came to the means of suspending this large pendant/series of pendants.  Each drop is separate but the customer requested that they be strung on Tiger Tail (fine, nylon-covered stainless steel wire).   Stringing them separately would make them liable to overlap as the customer moved. My solution was to fix them in relation to each other across the back using a length of silver wire with a loop at each end - a hidden bail.  The effect is one of 5 separate pieces; the reality...one large pendant.

Hammered finish silver earrings

Having discovered just how much light is reflected by a hammer finish, I'm using it for more and more pieces.  These earrings catch every bit of light going.

Hammer finish, silver bangle

Silver cuff bangle with hammer finish and textured stripes.  After cutting out the blank the areas to receive a hammer finish were masked off, and the stripes were etched with a wheel (not chemical), firstly across the width of the bangle,and then at right angles.  A final run over with a brass brush produced a sort of 3-d effect.  The etched areas were then protected during the hammering process.  Several rounds of annealing and hammering were needed to render the silver first pliable, then hardened.  There's a tendency when hammering for the metal to curl upwards when the bangle should curve the other way, so annealing of the work-hardened silver is essential to achieve this without splitting the metal. 

Hammer finish silver pendant

Hand-made circular silver pendant with drops and hung from black cord. The pendant is hammer-finished and slightly domed to lie flat against the skin. To form the drops, I hammered lengths of round silver wire flat at one end, rotated them through 90 degrees and hammered the opposite end so they look a bit like propellers.  A silver ball and wire was soldered to one end of each drop and then wound onto the pendant.

Swirly silver earrings

Swirly silver earrings with hammered finish and aurora borealis briolette beads.  Each earring is formed from one piece of silver wire.  Although given a hammered finish, they would benefit further from soldering to improve rigidity.