Forged Silver Earrings

[Bigwol]

I made these over the weekend.

They are beautifully dangly - over 70mm long each (or about 2 3/4 inches in old money) without the ear wires.

Hand forged from 3mm sterling wire with shed loads of annealing and a lot of hammering.

Very slender at the tips, hammered down to 0.45mm, which was about the thinnest I felt I could go without being dangerously sharp.

What do you think?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/DaveWallisPics/Bench/ForgedEarrings.jpg

[lesley]

Have you been reading my mind? I love this type of design. :)
I'd be tempted to go even longer and more dangly.
Quite simply GORGEOUS.

[bustagasket]

oh i love thes type, well done :)

[Emerald]

quite simply beautiful

[caroleallen]

They're really nice and I know from experience how much work goes into those.

[snow_imp]

I think they're beautiful and make me wish I had a long enough neck to wear them.

[MuranoSilver]

Gorgeous! I love a nice bit o forging :)
Perfect length for me too....
Nic x

[Tigerlily]

Ooh they are gorgeous!! Me likey a lot!!! :)

[Jayne]

Oh, YEAH!!!! :)
J x

[kymbi]

oh yes, lovely long earrings and just the sort I'd love to wear - I'm sure I can see my name on the bottom in teeny letters...

[mizgeorge]

Those are gorgeous :) Great length and I bet they look wonderful worn.

My only teeny, tiny criticism - I'd love to see them on handmade earwires though

[AlexandraBuckle]

Yep they're lovely :)

[shelliem]

Me too - I especially like the thin ends

[Lisa Quinn]

they are fabulous x

[Di Sandland]

Fabulous - oh to have something resembling a neck :(

[Ominicci]

LOL Di! []

They are fab!! (oh poo I haven't got 3mm, I could try some delicate ones with 2mm though...)

(But I agree with George about the ear wires)

[Sheltie]

This design is one of my staples although I do it in both 2mm and 4mm. I also do not anneal the wire and just go for it.

Just wish my pics were as good as yours:snow:

[Mila Jewellery]

They are beautiful - I'm a sucker for a bit of forging ;)

[amazingbabe]

This design is one of my staples although I do it in both 2mm and 4mm. I also do not anneal the wire and just go for it.

Just wish my pics were as good as yours:snow:

Would love to see some pics :xmas;_):

[amazingbabe]

I made these over the weekend.

They are beautifully dangly - over 70mm long each (or about 2 3/4 inches in old money) without the ear wires.

Hand forged from 3mm sterling wire with shed loads of annealing and a lot of hammering.

Very slender at the tips, hammered down to 0.45mm, which was about the thinnest I felt I could go without being dangerously sharp.

What do you think?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/DaveWallisPics/Bench/ForgedEarrings.jpg

Stunning =D>

[Sunnybank]

So stylish, I haven't tried forging yet, but its just gone higher up the list of things to try, will aspire to these.

[Gemma]

Lovely! So does annealing help to get it really thin? I've hit 3mm wire but it got too hard to hammer very thin

(I agree with the others about the earwires)

[minnie]

Hi Gemma

I have made a pendant and earrings like this. You need to anneal the wire and then half way through the forging re anneal to get a second shot.

The forging 'work hardens' the metal and you need to anneal to allow for forging.

[Bigwol]

I usually buy ball and spring earwires 'cos I think they look nice, but since everyone seems to think that handmade is better - here's my attempt.

Better? or worse? . .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/DaveWallisPics/Earwires.jpg

[Gemma]

I prefer it. It looks more organic so goes with the forged texture nicely

[Di Sandland]

Better......

[Sunnybank]

Better......

Much ....................

[mizgeorge]

Definitely better
(are we detecting a theme here.....)

[Emerald]

deffinatley much better love the little bit of forging at the end

[Jayne]

Oh, yeah :)
It's all in the detail...........nice... :)
J x

[Bigwol]

120mm of 3mm Sterling silver, which is the main raw mateial for these earrings costs about £5.50 at the moment.

The earrings took a couple of hours to get right, including buggering about with annealing, and pickling, plus a few quids worth of pink wheels, oxygen, propane and other miscellaneous polishing stuff.

So what should I price them at??



My rough calculations so far are

Materials
3 x £7.50 = £22.50

Time
2 x £20 = £40

Sub total

£62.50

Is there other stuff I need to add?
Profit / Markup,
Overheads / General Workshop Costs,
Taxes??

I'm new at this and I still usually under price my stuff and or give it away to relatives.

In the past, I've written it off as a learning expense, - set off against the supposedly inferior quality of the stuff I'm producing (ie - I've still got my L Plates on).

But as I get better , I feel I should charge 'the going rate', (especially when I see some of the crud out there masquerading as jewellery.)

Then I look at the current Argos/Samuels/'Your favourite High Street Jeweller Here' catalogue, and see the usual 9ct diamond earrings with a free pendant for £5 with a free puppy!, and get cold feet all over again.

I Know my quality is better, and their jewellery is made to sell at the lowest possible price not to last, but I still can't shake the - 'Got to keep the price low - there's a recession on' feeling.

Am I alone in this? or do we all get the heebie jeebies when trying to price things up?

Rant over!

Peace and Love

Dave

[minnie]

Why £89.99 ? entry price, no decent gallery etc uses the 1p below the pound trick? Does this mean auction site ?

[Carl Martin]

I wouldn't under price your work, it is hand crafted.

When I start selling my prices certainly won't be cheap, I would imagine they will raise many an eyebrow. If people want what you make they will pay. :Y:

Put it this way, I am thinking of an entry price of £89.99 on my pieces. *go on gasp everyone* LOL

Agree's on not selling your self short, but no idea how you can put a start price point on anything that you haven't made or been asked to make.

But from a previous post somewhere I gather you won't be making anything without a stone in it somewhere.:(

[Petal]

Here's a thread that contains Nic's thoughts on how to price up stuff - its not related to selling in shops exclusively, just a way of calculating how to sell jewellery. I'm sure you'll find it very useful. Your jewellery is absolutely beautiful and should have a price tag to match. Just scroll down to see Nic's guide.

http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/how-market-my-jewellery/720-advice-needed-selling-my-pieces-shop.html

After I read her advice, I re-priced my beaded jewellery (in some cases doubled) and they sold. I read somewhere that a shop owner had some jewellery in her window that just wasn't selling. She was out for the day, so advised her staff to halve the price. When she got back at the end of the day, all the jewellery had sold. She thought it was because she'd reduced the price. Her staff had misunderstood her and had doubled the price. People have very little time in their lives to assess whether they like something, is it quality or not and then whether to buy or not. If its inexpensive they assume its 'cheap stuff', if its more expensive, they think 'quality'.

....

[AlexandraBuckle]

I'm a bit late but I just want to say that the new ear wires are a big improvement!

I'm happy to PM you my calculation for pricing work if you would like to see it.

[lorraineflee]

The new ear wires finish the ear-rings off beautifully.
Lorraine

[mizgeorge]

I find earrings are often the hardest things to price. They can take a disproportionate amount of time to make, and because they are smaller in size, it's hard to make the value equation work.

I think sometimes customers miss the fact that they're often their most visible piece of jewellery (especially if people are talking to their faces ;))

[Jayne]

Put it this way, I am thinking of an entry price of £89.99 on my pieces. *go on gasp everyone* LOL

Having seen your work, logo & packaging, J, I would say that £90 is a tad modest. You could comfortably 'pump it up', so to speak......
J x

[Di Sandland]

When you consider that there are standard silver rings on Not On The Highstreet, handmade and also with a few semi precious stones set priced up at £400 I think my entry price is beyond competitive especially as I will be using precious stones.:-D
Jay, I know we're mates yada yada yada - but I am not speaking as a mate when I say I think you are UNDERPRICING yourself. I am speaking as somebody who appreciates quality components and faultless construction and who would be more than prepared to pay a premium for it.

[Di Sandland]

Just remember your mates, love ;)

[minnie]

No not saying only fit for auction site, just found the penny strange so was asking.

I know your work is much higher end than mine, I expect the reference to bits of silver is aimed at my work.

Yes I know Tunbridge Wells, lived near there for years.
Very nice place.

Now I have been put in my place !!

[JudyC]

Love them. They are great.
Cheers
Judy

[fi79]

Beautiful - very elegant!

[clwheat]

Oooh. They're simply beautiful!!!