This forged sterling silver necklace is a design from the way back machine. We first made this design in 1986 or so. Saw an old version of this, and decided to try it again. With 30 years more experience, it came out so much better! We started with thick, annealed silver wire, straightened it and cut it into pairs of the same lengths. Forged the ends into (as we say in the trade) dog bones. Bend, forge, solder, repeat. It is a good exercise in control! The center stone could be anything, (cabochon or faceted, round or oval) but we chose an iolite because we really love the colors of this gemstone. Iolite is affordable, tough, and is never treated- it comes out of the earth in this violet color and is never heated, dyed or irradiated. Fine iolite is rare and would probably be more expensive if people had actually heard of it.
We have also made this necklace out of a combination of gold and silver, with faceted sapphires set into each one of the links, going up the chain. Wow does THAT look great.
Personal note: The end result is a necklace that I love wearing. Occasionally I will notice that people are staring at me and I cannot figure out why..."oh!" when I realize that they are simply staring at the necklace. Oh well, I would probably stare too.
This takes a lot of silver, and a great deal of time and experience, so prices range from 600- to 1200- .
