Last week I posted my Biggs jasper cabochon that I made. Well this week my friend Peter was nice enough to show me how to do a little silversmithing. I know that I probably took longer to make this than most people but I am OCD when it comes to certain thing, they must be perfect and this happened to be one of those things. This Biggs Jasper pendant total including the cutting of the cabochon has about 12 hours invested in it. Now I know why custom jewelry is so expensive.
 
 
I was quite surprised on all that it takes to make something out of Sterling Silver. First I had to decide what gauge of silver to use which was 20 for the backing. Next was the gauge of the bezel strip which I used 26 gauge. After that I had to mark the 20 gauge with an outline of my cabochon. Then I used a jewelers saw to cut out the shape. The blades on these saws are beyond thin and very easy to break, I think I used 3 blades just on this one piece.
 

After the back is cut out I had to mark out the bezel and solder it to the backing. The soldering was an experience and definitely something I am going to practice. After the soldering we had to put the pendant in a thing called a pickle not the kind you eat but an acid that I guess helps remove the flux.
 
 
After that I had to do a lot of sanding and filing. Then it was time to set the cabochon in the sterling silver bezel that I made. Again it was back to sanding and filing and the addition of a burnishing tool to help smooth out the silver. After about 7 hours total yes I know it’s a long time. Now it was time to buff and wipe the biggs jasper pendant clean. As I am writing this I can still feel my hands throbbing from all of this work.
 
 
Here are a few more views of the Biggs Jasper Silver Pendant.