New Fold-Over Pendants in Stock

Five new pendants added to inventory.

After last week’s visit to the shops in Winthrop and Twisp that sell my jewelry, I had to hustle to start building up stock. So I started with some items I already had partially made: my “fold-over” bail pendants.

Foldover Kingman T Bronze
Kingman Turquoise with bronze on sterling silver.

Foldover Kingman Turquoise and Spiny Oyster Shell with Bronze
Kingman Turquoise and Orange Spiny Oyster Shell with bronze on sterling silver.

Foldover Labradorite
Labradorite on sterling silver.

Foldover Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli on sterling silver.

Foldover Rose Quartz
Rose Quartz on sterling silver.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I make these in batches, completing one step on all pieces before moving on to the next step. For those who are curious, the steps are as follows:

  1. Cut sterling silver sheet in two different sizes of the same elongated teardrop shape. These are all hand cut. I’ll normally cut more than I need for the pendants I plan to make so I have some already done for next time I make them. That’s why the ones I made this weekend were already partially made.
  2. Sand the edges of each cut piece to smooth them.
  3. Choose the stones for each piece. I have a dwindling inventory of small gemstones that are perfectly sized for these. I try to pick a variety.
  4. Make the bezels for each stone. None of these are “standard” sizes so I need to make a bezel from scratch for each one. I start with fine or sterling silver strip and then size, cut, solder, pickle, and shape it.
  5. Solder the bezels onto the teardrop back plates for each pendant, then pickle, wash, and dry them.
  6. Stamp the backplates with a variety of designs. I have no set design so these are all different every time I make them.
  7. Apply a darkening agent to blacken the silver.
  8. Use a variety of techniques to polish the pieces so the silver is bright while the cuts made by the stamps remain darker. This involves manually polishing and putting each piece through a series of tumbling processes that take four to six hours.
  9. Wash and dry each piece.
  10. Set the stones. I need to remember which stone goes into which piece since they’re not interchangeable!
  11. Roll the bail around bail-making pliers to create the bail.

Because of the assembly line process I use to make these in batches, if I start early enough, I can usually make 4 to 8 of them in a day — that’s how I can keep them affordably priced. The trick is to get them into the tumblers at roughly the same time as early in the day as possible. While they’re tumbling, I can usually get started on a new piece that isn’t part of a batch.

All of my fold-over bail pendants are made of sterling silver (and stamped as such on back) or copper with good quality gemstone cabochons set in them. They come with an 18″ sterling silver chain. They retail for $69 and can be found in my online shop or at many of the shops and galleries where my work is sold.

Back from Consignment: Cloud Mountain Turquoise Pendant

I get an old friend back in inventory.

Cloud Mountain PendantOne of the drawbacks of selling on consignment is that not everything sells. The gallery in Ellensburg where I sell a lot of my jewelry on consignment seems to do better selling my smaller and wire-framed pendants. (In fact, on my visit there the other day, she just about cleared out all of the wire pendants I had!) What doesn’t sell comes back to me and I was very pleased to see this old friend, a piece of Cloud Mountain Turquoise bezel-set on a hand cut and textured sterling silver backplate. Even the custom beaded chain came back with it.

You can find this (until sold) at one of the following places: various art shows I’ll be attending, at the galleries and gift shops that sell my work, or on my online shop.

New Pendants: White Buffalo on Sterling Silver

I finish two new White Buffalo pendants in time for next week’s art show.

White Buffalo Turquoise PendantYesterday, I put the finishing touches on a pair of similar but definitely different White Buffalo turquoise pendants.

This is real White Buffalo from Tonopah, Nevada — the only place this stone occurs naturally — that I purchased at the Kingman Mine in Arizona several years ago and had a local lapidary polish into cabochons. They are both set on solid 22 gauge sterling silver using bezels and feature sterling silver balls and tube bails that can accommodate 4mm beaded necklaces or just about any chain.

They’re shown here with a Howlite and sterling silver beaded necklace, which is available at additional cost. Otherwise, they each come with an 18″ sterling silver chain.

White Buffalo Turquoise PendantYou can find these (until sold) at the various art shows I’ll be attending, at the galleries and gift shops that sell my work, or on my online shop.

What’s New: Week Ending February 26, 2022

Jewelry made during the week ending February 26, 2022.

Here’s some of the jewelry I made this week. See more photos and buy them in my online shop. As always, new items are available online at 20% (or more) off for a limited time between art shows.

Simple Pendants


Kingman Turquoise with bronze on sterling silver. Includes a sterling silver chain.


Malachite on sterling silver. Includes a sterling silver chain.


Kingman Turquoise with bronze on sterling silver. Includes a sterling silver chain.


Rhodochrosite on sterling silver. Includes a sterling silver chain.


African Turquoise on copper. Includes a black leather necklace.

Prong Set Pendants


Translucent moss agate framed with sterling silver. Includes a sterling silver chain.

Bezel Set Pendants


Snowflake obsidian bezel set in sterling silver. Includes a sterling silver chain.


Leopardskin Jasper bezel set in copper. Includes a black leather necklace.

Gemstone Bracelets


Amethyst with sterling and fine silver bracelet. Entirely hand made, with soldered bracelet links.