Gold Fuchsia pendant with pear shaped Sapphire stone and a custom swing-lid display box

A very special 45th wedding anniversary present, this was a challenging piece. My client was very organised and had clear ideas on what he wanted.

Being a surprise made it crucial that the secret was kept during every part of the process.

Here’s what we did:

 

Pendant Concepts

We started off with drawings and sketches to work out the shapes.

With a pear shaped stone, there were a lot of complex shapes so the sketches would make way for physical mockups in Fimo.

Clay Maquettes

Next was getting the form fleshed out in fimo to see how the setting would fit into it. These stages all  add time to the overall commission process but are vital to making sure that when the gold is cast it will all go together as planned.

The process was to:

  • create a Fimo mockup initally
  • then create the silver prototype.
  • Use that silver master to cast a gold version of the pendant
  • Set the sapphire in the gold version

During this time, several versions were done to improve the shape and make sure the setting would be able to be placed once the fuscia was cast.

Below is a quick look at the silver mockup.

Silver Prototype

Getting to this stage meant we were getting closer to the final fuchsia in gold. The setting needed to fit through the opening and still allow the stone to sit securely once in place.

It took a bit of finessing to get it all to fit.

Final piece

The final pendant was a combination of the gold exterior flower and an internal setting which holds the stone in place.

It is a lovely tactile piece that I’m hoping will bring years of fond memories.

I had this wonderful pivoted swing-lid box made by a local woodturner and lined it with stitched leather cushions. The box had a beautiful sliding-pivot action.

It is a fitting box to a wonderful piece that truly has been a journey in the making.