Custom Work

Here is an example of the type of custom work that can be done by the Gem Shop & Diamond Source.

What can we do with this fresh water Pearl? (continued below picture)



(above) Shown here is a natural Fresh Water Pearl, collected during the time of the Great Depression, from the Rock River. It clearly resembled a swan, as seen in this photo, but something was missing...



(above) The blue material is Jewelers wax. The work is done in this material, then a casting plaster is poured around the item. As the mold is cured in a kiln, the wax is melted and burned out, leaving a cavity behind. It is this cavity that becomes a mold, exactly duplicating every detail of the original hand made wax. The gold or silver is now melted and poured in under vacuum. Some of the tools used to create this work are shown to the right.



(above) As you can see, this pendant was made using 3 separate castings. The Cattails were cast from 10K Green Gold, the head and neck from 10K Rose Gold, and the tail and pond ripples from 14K Yellow Gold. These pieces are shown just as they came out of the mold, unfinished. What was the reason for the different colors? We planned to Gold Electroplate the Gold castings with still more colors!



(above) In the completed piece, the swans bill was masked off to remain Rose colored, while the head and neck were plated in White Gold.

The pond ripples were masked off to remain Yellow Gold while the tail was plated in White Gold.

Finally the Cattail leaves were masked off to remain Green Gold, while the seed pods themselves were plated in Yellow Gold.

All of the pieces were then soldered together and the Pearl drilled and mounted. The reason 10K was selected for two of the castings, was that it is a richer color in that alloy than it would have been in 14K Gold. This swan was made as a pendant, there are loops hidden behind the Cattails for the chain. It can sit upright in a curio cabinet, or jewelry box when not in use. As the pearl was one of a kind, so is the Swan. Like most of our castings, there is not another piece like it in the entire world.



(above) Here is a close up to show detail, the total height of the piece was approximately 1-1/8 Inches, so the head area shown here is really quite small. The coloration of the gold is very subtle in these photographs. As with all Black Hills Gold type alloys, it does tend to richen a bit with time, unfortunately this was a customers pearl, and as with all our custom work, we had to say good-bye to the swan when she came to pick it up. The pearl had been collected by the lady's father and kept safe all these years. She commissioned the piece as a gift for her mother who treasures it greatly.

Gemshoponline Home