Sheen Obsidian Pendant step by step

I haven't been posting a lot lately so I thought I'd make up for it with a step-by-step of the setting I made last weekend.

The stone is a cats' eye cab of silver sheen obsidian from up in the mountains at the border of Somewhere and Somewhere Else (Eastern Block area, already forgot which countries). I picked up this rough from some Austrian sellers in Tucson this year - it's the best silver sheen I've ever seen so far.

Apologies in advance for the semi-crappy cell phone pics.  It's so easy to upload the pics directly to smugmug from the phone though, I fear my days of using a regular camera are numbered!

Here's the drawing I had made previously for a different stone, that I found when looking through my notebook for ideas:



Here's the new drawing with the finished pendant next to it. I'm a geek and have to write out all the steps beforehand or I'll screw something up!



Paper cutouts I made of the layers to make sure I had the mechanics right:





I forgot to get a picture of the PNP paper with the etching pattern for the back of the piece before I ironed it onto the silver. Here it is after ironing and before etching.



I etch with Ferric Nitrate and heat it on a cup warmer to speed up the etching (it takes half an hour).  I etched an area large enough to have pattern on the bail too. The etching is really easy - maybe I'll do a tutorial on that if there's any interest.  It's hard to get the PNP paper to stick near the edge of the sheet though, which is annoying - that's why it's in the center, which seems wasteful.  I protected the other areas though so I'll be able to use them for something later. 

After etching (note the rust in the grooves - that's a natural byproduct of the etching chemistry and it comes out in the pickle pot):



This etched bit will be the third (last) layer.

I didn't take any pictures of making the bezel or soldering it onto the sheet. Here is the first layer cut out. It was a pain in the you-know-what to get these corners square (or square-ish), especially the cutouts.  Layer 1 is 22 gauge fine silver.  Layer 1 is the same sheet that the bezel is soldered onto.





I made the second layer by laying the first layer down on sheet and sweat soldering it on. Then I drew the shape I wanted onto the second sheet (also 22g fine silver). I just used the paper for visual reference:



And cut it out (much easier this time):



Soldered all that onto the etched backing plate (20g fine silver):


And drawn (most complicated layer shape).  You can see I initially started with an assymetrical design, but later decided I didn't like it and cut them all the same:



And cut:



That cut went a lot easier than I expected. Square files are great!

Here's how the back came out.  Top is marked, as the cab is offset slightly:



On with the bail, a long question mark bail:



The inspector says it needs more cleanup (that's my girl Harley):



Mostly cleaned up:




Finished, oxidized and set (I just love this stone!):




Fingers crossed that the video works.

Conclusion: I'm REALLY happy with how it turned out. I think next time I might choose a different pattern for the etch on the back - I thought this one would be good since it's kind of deco/craftsman style, but, you know, I just only sort of like it.  I'm glad that's the back! I had to do a lot of thinking about the structure - I ended up using a lot of silver this way (the finished piece is 0.7 oz without the stone, not counting waste), but I wanted the back to be flat and level, with no overhangs or undercuts. I thought about soldering the bezel to the bottom layer and building up from there, but I didn't want to have to build the layers up alongside the cab, cutting them to match the curve of the bezel and soldering them on right next to the very meltable bezel.

Hope this is either entertaining or useful! 
Bluesky (Susan)