Back in May, I mentioned a pair of emerald earrings I was working on. Well, I finished them ages ago and thought it was high time I shared them! I have a couple of strands of beautiful faceted emerald rondelles and I'm so happy to have finally put them to use.
I first shaped the hoop section of the earrings and hammered them to give them a bit of texture and sparkle. I love my hammer. It's actually a bit sentimental. When I moved into my first apartment, my dad gave it to me so I'd be able to hang pictures on the wall. He said, "Don't lose it. Your mom's father gave it to me." Many years later, now that I'm married, obviously we have more than one hammer. So, my husband helped me polish my grandfather's to a mirror shine to use for my jewelry.
I love the way these emeralds are strung with a gradual fade from the darkest green to the lightest. I was careful to keep them in this order as I wanted that same gradient shading in my earrings. So, I lined them all up carefully, poised on their vermeil headpins, to ensure I ended up with the effect I wanted. I added vermeil brushed wavy disks to the top-most emeralds for a bit more shine and texture, fashioned the eye end of the headpins with my pliers and finally put the whole assembly together and hung them from French earwires. I'm really pleased with the way they turned out, though I'd love to hear your opinion. There's more photos and details on my website. Now they just need a good home!
