Techniques

Chainmaille is the ancient technique of weaving many individual rings together to form something new.  Originally designed as a way to produce flexible armor, chainmaille soon began to be used for jewelry purposes.  Modern chainmaille is used to create jewelry with texture and movement unparalleled by other jewelry making techniques. 

All of my chainmaille pieces are handwoven, and then each link is either individually welded closed for exceptional strength and wearability (all while maintaining flexibility), or the entire piece is torch fused together to form bonds at every touchpoint, creating a solid work of jewelry art. Some pieces are made from a blending of these techniques.

Any chainmaille design that isn't fused, is welded.  What this means is that as I weave the piece, I weld each link shut one at a time, to maintain flexibility, while providing exception strength and wearability.

Welded chainmaille is smooth, slinky, deceptively durable, and delightfully beautiful.  Truly a unique experience.

Argentium Silver has the unique property of being able to be fused to itself at high temperatures.  This makes it ideal for creating solid pieces out of chainmaille — taking what was once hundreds of rings, and fusing it into one solid piece.  This gives strength, stability, and wearability to my designs.

I carefully fuse pieces by hand using a small torch.  Just a bit too much heat, and the whole piece can melt into a small puddle of molten metal.  It's exciting!

All forged pieces are skillfully formed and forged by my hand using traditional hammering techniques, making each piece slightly unique and very special.

There's nothing like creating beautiful lines and a one-of-a-kind texture through the wielding of a well-balanced hammer.

Metals

Argentium Silver is a high-karat sterling silver that is purer and whiter than traditional sterling silver, and made exclusively from recycled silver.

Argentium Silver contains no nickel, and less copper than traditional sterling.  An element named Germanium is added to the alloy, which gives Argentium its unique tarnish-resistance and fusing properties.

Argentium Silver is also hypoallergenic, making it ideal for wearers who have issues coming into contact with other metals.  This makes it an especially excellent option for first-time earrings wearers.

All of my Argentium Silver pieces are properly kiln fired and finished for optimal strength and tarnish resistance.

For when only solid gold will do, you can’t beat the warmth of 18k gold.

18k gold is 75% pure gold.  While not hypoallergenic like Argentium Silver, very few wearers have issues with 18k gold, because of its relatively high purity.


18k gold fuses effortlessly to Argentium Silver, making it the perfect companion metal.

Gold-filled is the best alternative to solid gold. Unlike gold plating, which is a essentially trace amounts of gold chemically and electrically bonded to base metal, gold-filled metals have a thick layer of real gold that is bonded to base metal (usually brass) when the metal is originally formed (or milled). This creates a much thicker and more durable layer of gold on the outside. Think of it as gold-filled-with-base-metal. Everything you see on the outside of a gold-filled piece of jewelry is real gold!

Most gold-filled metals are labeled 14/20, meaning the gold is 14k gold, and comprises 1/20th of the entire volume of metal. This means that the outermost 5% of gold-filled is real gold, and the inner 95% is base metal. Not surprisingly, solid 14k gold is about 20x the cost of 14/20 gold-filled.

Because of these reasons, gold-filled makes a great affordable alternative to solid gold. Where it is especially cost effective is in necklace chains — the links in necklaces often wear down over time, because the links rub against each other every time the chain moves. It’s possible that solid gold chains are more durable than gold-filled, but not 20x more durable. Also, a solid gold chain can oftentimes cost more money than the gold pendant you pair it with, because of the large amount of gold needed to make a chain. Thus, gold-filled chains can be great companion pieces to solid gold pendants.

Gemstones

American mined gemstones are natural gemstones that are harvested right here in the USA.

American mined sapphires come from Montana, while American mined rubies come from Wyoming.

Enjoy natural gemstones from locally (and ethically) mined sources.

American manufactured gemstones include Renaissance brand diamonds, and moissanite created by Charles & Colvard — grown and cut right here in the USA.

Moissanite is the perfect diamond alternative.  At a MOHS hardness of 9.25, it is nearly as hard as diamond.  Brilliant and white, Moissanite is the most popular gemstone I sell.

And for when only a diamond will do, I use USA created Renaissance brand diamonds.  Get the classic gemstone, without the ethical price tag.

Whenever possible, I utilize gemstones in my designs that are either American mined or American manufactured.  However, that can sometime limit what I am able to create. 

When I am unable to find American gemstones, I still strive to find the most ethical (first world labor) and environmentally friendly (usually manufactured) options.

See each listing for specific information on stones used.