Monday, 15 March 2010

Still On The Chain Maille

Well, I took the plunge, and used my Koil Kutter (with the new blade, unsullied by steel) to cut a whole pile of argentium jump rings.  Figuring out the size of the rings needed was very difficult because the required math seems to have taken a holiday.  Carol at Beaded-Baubles .com has created a beautiful pattern that she calls Coda.
This is a variation of her pattern, which, I think, is a variation of the Helm chain. 

I was too anxious to get a picture and did my photography at night.  Not a good idea.  You can't see the sparkle of the argentium silver (92.5% silver, same as sterling, but low tarnish).  Amazingly, every speck of dust on my board, too small to be seen with the naked eye (my naked eye, anyway) shows up in incredible detail.

I call this piece Infinite Seasons because of the obvious circle motif and the gorgeous peridot green Swarovski crystal leaf contrasted by the burnished copper leaf.

This is a better shot of the leaves, showing the beautiful play of colours on the copper and some of the chain detail.  It's also another great shot of the dust.
This necklace is a little over 17 inches long and contains an ounce of argentium silver.  Argentium has 92.5% silver, same as sterling, but where sterling is alloyed with copper, argentium is alloyed with germanium, increasing the resistance to tarnish.
This necklace is sold.

1 comment:

  1. Susan, this is beautiful! I'm so impressed with both the chain maille and the combination of copper and peridot leaves. Gorgeous work.

    My camera also picks up all the dust particles. If you ever discover a way to eliminate them, please share it here.

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