On the BENCH

With the recent drop in silver prices (yea!) I've begun creating a few new wide cuff-style bracelets. They have always been a big hit! However, this time I decided to work in FINE silver rather than Argentium or sterling silver. What's the difference, you ask?

Well, before I began working in precious and semi-precious metals, I thought the term "fine" was simply a word to describe the metal's aesthetics..like fine art. The term "fine silver" actually refers to the purity of the metal. Fine silver is .999 (99.9%) pure silver. In contrast, sterling silver is .925 (92.5%) pure silver which is alloyed with (typically) copper. Argentium sterling silver consists of 92.5% pure silver, 6.5% copper and 1% germanium. Although, different alloy recipes for Argentium exist.

The main disadvantage of traditional sterling silver is it quickly tarnishes. And, if you're like me, I dislike polishing my jewelry...I just want to put it on and look fabulous! There are some methods to slow the tarnishing (oxidizing) process, like storing silver jewelry in individual zip-top plastic bags or using anti-tarnishing strips in your jewelry box. Of course, some wearers like the look of aged or antiqued silver...so tarnish isn't really an issue. :)

This leads to the next issue: what are the causes of tarnish? It's the copper in the silver alloy which oxidizes in the air which causes the tarnish. Some areas of the US are especially harsh on jewelry (as I discovered while vacationing in Florida). Florida has a lot of sulfur in the environment and quickly turns silver black! (Tarnish is really silver sulfide) Other tarnish causing agents include eggs, onions, chlorine bleach, and latex.

What does that have to do with fine silver? Well, fine silver is 99.9% pure silver and, lacking copper, will stay bright and beautiful for a very long time! It's a win-win situation. Your jewelry stays bright and beautiful and you have an heirloom quality piece of pure silver adornment!

My new wide cuff bracelets are made from 1" wide fine silver and will feature a hammered texture with subtle cut-outs for interest and a slightly modern edge.

Color Challenge - YELLOW

Just a reminder that this week I will be posting items created using the color YELLOW as a focal color! I have already created a wonderfully sparkly bracelet with sunny yellow citrine coupled with 14kt. goldfill. I'm also digging in my box of cool vintage beads to see what I might find.

I rarely use yellow in my designs, so this is a wonderful challenge for me. It has made me venture a little out of my comfort zone.

Keep posted! Oh, and be sure to comment on your favorite(s)!

Visit the other Color Challenge participants too:
fedeDesigns
HotFudge
Sparkly Treasures
Glady andCloudy
RachelsAprons
TreasureField
DaisychainDesigns
AlwaysAmy
yarnPlay
BeadingInTheDark

Color Challenge!!

Fiona of fede designs proposed a weekly color challenge on her blog and in the Etsy forums. The Challenge goes something like this:

"So I've got this idea. To make my sewing world even more fun & challenging over the next 6 weeks (alright...honestly...maybe it's also an attempt to minimise my terrible procrastination) I'm going to do this.........
This week (starting Mon 9/6) I will be only sewing in BLUE. All creations will be posted (the good, the bad & the ugly) for your perusal and comment, and the winning designs will hit my Etsy store. Each subsequent week will have a colour assigned in this order.
BLUE YELLOW BROWN RED GREEN PINK
As much as I have a soft spot for black, I have excluded it from this challenge."

Knowing what a s-l-o-w designer and perfectionist I am, I decided to accept the challenge with this exception...I will participate every other week. This way I am positive I will have more than one submission for each color thus allowing readers to vote! I will create using the colors yellow, red and pink.