Hello lovelies!

Today I thought I’d give you all a little peek into my silversmithing work – I don’t do this often enough, really. This is Part 1 of a 2-Part series about the very special – and unique! – wedding jewellery I made for a crafty friend recently.

Today, I’m going to show you how I created a sterling silver diamond pendant, which formed the centrepiece of the bride’s necklace.

I started with a laser-cut diamond that was to form the centrepiece of the bridesmaids’ necklaces. However, we wanted the bride’s silver diamond to be bigger. So, I photocopied the laser-cut version, then enlarged it!

The next step was to trace the diamond design – very carefully! – onto tracing paper.

Once that’s done, I cut out around the diamond, so I had a little piece of paper.

Gotta make sure it looks nice and even!

Now, to glue the tracing paper down onto the sterling silver sheet! I use coloured glue so I can see where I put it, then I put the silver sheet under something heavy to help flatten the paper down and glue it nice and firmly, so it won’t slip while I’m working on it.

After leaving it to dry for a little while, it’s time to start! The first step is to pull off the excess paper, so it doesn’t get in the way.

Then, I drill a hole in each section that I am going to cut out. This allows me to insert my jewellers saw blade through the hole so I can cut out the shapes. That’s why this is called ‘piercing’.

Voila! The first section is cut out.

Now, to cut out around the outside, so the extra silver doesn’t get in the way, and continue cutting out each piece.

Finally – all the pieces are cut out, and we’re left with the final (albeit still rough) shape!

Now we need to get rid of all the rough edges – time to peel off the no-longer-needed tracing paper, and break out the jewellers files…

Finally, after some sandpaper treatment, we have the finished product!

A lovely sterling silver diamond pendant.

Next week I’ll show you where this pendant ended up, as well as sharing the rest of the jewellery I made for this wedding.

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