Process
Photos
Below
is a series of photos taking you through the steps I use to construct
a pendant. The process begins with "lapidary", which is the
art of cutting and polishing stones. After the stones are cut and polished,
settings for those stones are constructed from metal sheet and wire.
For
photos illustrating the making of a "mod bracelet" click
here.
You
can also see additional photos of my workshop at my Shop
Photos page.
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Lapis
lazuli is cut into 1/8" slices with a diamond-edged blade.
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| The slice is cut into
smaller chunks closer to the desired final shape. |
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| The chunk of lapis
is glued onto a plastic stick (dop stick) and then shaped by grinding on
a spinning diamond disc. |
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| After using several
progressively smoother diamond discs, the cabochon is polished on a felt
disc with diamond paste. |
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| After deciding on a
design combining other stones, a strip of pure silver sheet is formed around
the stone to create the bezel. |
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| The bezels are soldered
onto a sheet of sterling silver using an acetylene torch. |
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| The bezels are sawn
out with a jeweler’s saw. |
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| After forming the bail
and joining the two elements with a jump ring, the cabochons are set by
pushing the bezels over onto the stone using a bezel pusher. |
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| After all stones are
set, the pendant is now ready for polishing, a two-step process using first
tripoli, then jeweler’s rouge on cotton or muslin buffs mounted on
an electric motor. |
