Sunday, May 13, 2012
The Pendant Heart
After I found the beach pebble with the small included heart, I mentioned to a couple of friends that I was thinking of having it made into a pendant necklace. At the time the idea was transitory and not very serious, but both of them thought it was a splendid idea. How could I possibly disagree with their sterling taste?
So, I ambled over to a local jewllery shop that had been on the corner for years. I'd originally intended to ask at another shop, but they seemed to be having trouble being open when I came by, even when the sign said they were supposed to be open.
I don't really belong in a jewellery shop. I have not gotten into the habit of wearing decorations, which means that when I do it gets in the way. I have a very nice liquid silver necklace, and a few pins, but just don't think about it much. It took a bit of courage to walk into the shop and ask about custom pieces. They told me whom I should contact.
A few days later I walked back, this time with the stone. If you look at this, it's a very plain sandstone pebble, with a somewhat darker grey inclusion. More or less circular, a thick disk about an inch and a half across. I handed it to Steven, the jeweller, and asked him about making a pendant out of it.
The interaction was interesting. At first, he was thinking about fitting the stone into something like the samples he had on display, but after a few minutes' thought he realized that wasn't going to work. It would be too heavy. That's when I thought he'd turn down the job. Then, though, the look on his face changed, and he talked about a couple of things he could try. He set a price and I left the stone with him.
A couple of weeks later he had a wax model of what he'd designed. It looked fine to me. In a couple of weeks he had the piece finished, so we worked on the final details of a chain, clasp and assembly. He also mentioned doing some kind of acid wash to darken it, and the chain, which sounded good to me. The bright silver was distracting.
A couple of weeks after that he called and said it was complete.
He did a beautiful job on this, I think. The stone itself is so plain-seeming that a more fancy setting would overwhelm it. He tuned his design to the stone, and the ensemble works well. He said, after I put it on for the first time, "It suits you." In more ways than one.
So, I ambled over to a local jewllery shop that had been on the corner for years. I'd originally intended to ask at another shop, but they seemed to be having trouble being open when I came by, even when the sign said they were supposed to be open.
I don't really belong in a jewellery shop. I have not gotten into the habit of wearing decorations, which means that when I do it gets in the way. I have a very nice liquid silver necklace, and a few pins, but just don't think about it much. It took a bit of courage to walk into the shop and ask about custom pieces. They told me whom I should contact.
A few days later I walked back, this time with the stone. If you look at this, it's a very plain sandstone pebble, with a somewhat darker grey inclusion. More or less circular, a thick disk about an inch and a half across. I handed it to Steven, the jeweller, and asked him about making a pendant out of it.
The interaction was interesting. At first, he was thinking about fitting the stone into something like the samples he had on display, but after a few minutes' thought he realized that wasn't going to work. It would be too heavy. That's when I thought he'd turn down the job. Then, though, the look on his face changed, and he talked about a couple of things he could try. He set a price and I left the stone with him.
A couple of weeks later he had a wax model of what he'd designed. It looked fine to me. In a couple of weeks he had the piece finished, so we worked on the final details of a chain, clasp and assembly. He also mentioned doing some kind of acid wash to darken it, and the chain, which sounded good to me. The bright silver was distracting.
A couple of weeks after that he called and said it was complete.
He did a beautiful job on this, I think. The stone itself is so plain-seeming that a more fancy setting would overwhelm it. He tuned his design to the stone, and the ensemble works well. He said, after I put it on for the first time, "It suits you." In more ways than one.
# posted by Larry @ 14:08 
