Well, tax time has come and gone, and so has my tax refund…But I didn’t waste it on bills or savings this year. Instead I had loads of fun investing it in a soldering torch and various accessories, a few new tools and some fabulous beads, including these Labradorite briolettes which I wire-wrapped in sterling silver and added to a simple silver chain.
I just love, love, love the flash of color that you get from the Labradorite at different angles! The pictures just don’t do it justice.
I still have to get the torch gased up before I can put it to work, but keep checking back for updates! 
Sterling silver & labradorite pendant
I’m happy with the way my labradorite pendant turned out. This is my first project bezel setting a stone completely from scratch in my jewelry fabrication class. I can’t wait to wear it, but I’m out of chain. Drat!
Sterling silver & copper pendant
I kept my pendant design for class relatively simple. It’s a round sterling silver pendant, approximately 1.5″ in diameter, which has a couple of sterling silver and copper dots and a small bezel cup soldered on. I had hoped to finish it earlier this week, but I still need to set the green chryoprase cabochon in the bezel, and I accidentally left the stone in class last Saturday.
Techniques used included cutting sterling silver sheet with metal snips, lots of filing, hammering the dots to flatten them out, soldering and sanding for a brushed finish. I love working with the soldering torch! The filing was a bit tedious, but if I don’t let myself get in too big of a hurry, it’s actually a soothing activity.
In class this weekend, I’ll begin creating a bezel to make a pendant with this lovely labradorite gemstone. At first glance there’s nothing special about this silvery-grey stone, but then the light hits it from certain angles, and beautiful iridescent flashes of blues, greens, yellows and a teeny bit of orange catch your eye, and you gain a whole new appreciation for its beauty.
