waves pendant – Argentium silver – long rectangle
This pendant is 5.0 cm long by 1.3 cm wide.
It weighs 3.9 grams.
WATER * I Change * FLOWING FORMLESSNESS – Transformative – Playful – Balance – Passionate
All of our jewellery is solid Argentium silver – the antique (black) finish is applied to the Argentium and is permanent – and you never have to polish it.
Argentium Silver is a high quality silver with a silver content of 940. It has the unique feature of having a small amount of Germanium added. Argentium Silver is whiter, harder and slower to tarnish. And it is always nickel-free.
For the ‘waves’ design (in the Water Design group) I start by imprinting Argentium silver sheet with sand – for a nice beach texture. Then cut the shape I want from the sheet of silver.
Next, with the softest torch, I roll the edges of the sand-textured silver. I carefully and gently melt the edge, just until the silver begins to ‘roll’.
Once I have the soft edges done, I lay out silver waves and granules, to mimic the water and pebbles of a beach shore, and then fuse them permanently in place. And I attach a bail for the pendant to hang on a chain.
With one final check, I make sure the shape is perfect, and I polish out any scratches or marks from the work process. Then I tumble for work hardening and polishing.
Argentium silver has one extra step. It must be heated. This brings the Germanium to the surface to protect the silver – slowing down tarnish and creating a very white, scratch resistant surface.
The Argentium silver has been textured, cut to shape, edges rolled, waves and granules fused on, bail soldered on, polished, work hardened and baked.
A final polish to make the silver ‘mirror finish’ shiny.
Some pieces I want an antique finish for – so the entire pendant is antiqued, and then just the highest edges are polished back to shiny to contrast with the darker base.
And the pendant is ready to be enjoyed for years to come.
