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This pendant was another project from the Christmas that yielded the carnelian pear-shaped cabochon pendant and the black onyx oval cabochon pendant. If you looked at either of those projects, I mentioned how my wife and I set out to create gifts that reflected each person's style, and how important it is to consider the cost when choosing materials. In this case, there were no stones--only silver. However, as simple as it may seem, this project was challenging in its own right.

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Due to the thickness of this sheet, I had to cut the circles by hand, using a template. My disc cutter wouldn't have stood a chance. I had to buy a new dapping set to accommodate the large diameter of the disc (or donut, if you prefer.) But, before using the dapping tools to shape (dome) the donut, I applied the texture using the rounded end of a ball-peen hammer. This process would have been exponentially more difficult to do after I shaped the piece. Also, the process of shaping the piece with the dapping tools stretched the facet-like surfaces, creating a smoother, better looking texture.

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A work in progress: after cutting and hammering, but before polishing and adding the finishing touches.
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Finally, a simple hoop was added through a small hole in the sheet metal to make a bail. When viewed from the front, the bail hoop nearly disappears against the pendant. The finished product was lightly sanded and polished.

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If you look closely, you can see some small marks from the metal work. Once I added the texture and had it where I wanted, those marks became a permanent part of the piece. Removing them would've have removed the texture and ruined the look. Who cares about a few small marks? That's how you know it's handmade.

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When choosing sheet metal for the back of a bezel cup, generally I use a smaller gauge (thinner, higher gauge number) to reduce the weight of the finished piece. If the back extends beyond the bezel cup, meaning the edge of the back sheet is visible (not blended with the bezel) I may use a slightly thicker sheet. In this case, I went with a larger gauge, (thicker, smaller gauge number,) for a couple of reasons.

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First, there is no stone and a thinner sheet of metal would be too light on its own. It might feel strange to the wearer and it might move around too much. It might even be caught by the wind, like a neck tie. No one wants to be slapped in the face by a metal pendant.

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Second, the shaping and texturing processes both involve hitting the metal with a hammer, more or less. The shaping stretches the metal to a lesser extent. The texturing stretches the metal everywhere the texture appears. When the texture is spread over the entire surface, the effect is a reduction in the thickness of the metal throughout. Add in light sanding and polishing, which also removes small amounts of metal, and you end up thinner than you started. In order to end with a thick piece of metal, we have to start with thick piece of metal.

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