need help with making a pendant like this

[Silver_Witch]

Amethyst Spark Necklace on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/shopclementine/4158900548/in/set-72157600518739755/)

I want to know how to encase the gem in gold/silver like the person has done here.

I LOOOOOVEEEE these style pendants, where the gems are not so perfect and neither is the encasing x

hope someone can help me

[Cathy at the Beach]

I"m sure there are way more qualified people to speak to this design than me- however here goes from my perspective.

I looks to me like this jeweller has either made a bezel and then added chunks of gold to the bezel with solder- or he/she cut a backing and then soldered little squares of gold over lapping to form a bezel- then pushed them in in an irregular fashion around the stone. I took a look at her other work and there are a couple of things similar to this- a ring and another pendant. Its a pretty neat setting. I think it would be a bit of a pita to make.

edited to add- none of my bezels are perfect!!!! hahaha, not on purpose though.

[MuranoSilver]

I think it might be an Electroplated pendant the stones look similar to these
silver elecroplated ones I found at a place called Best Crystals (http://www.bestcrystals.com/jewelry4.html)
nic x

[Lisa Quinn]

I'll add my musings... it looks to me that she has created an oversized bezel with 18carat gold and then pinched the walls of the bezel in an irregular manner and then roughly pushed it over, I'm sure you could recreate this with fine silver.

[Lucy]

I'm with nic - pretty sure its electroplated. Any fancypants bezel setting of this kind would just take way to long to make it a viable option considering the price of things like this.

[Lucy]

you can electroplate allsorts of things - including insects, leaves etc

[Dennis]

.
What we are seeing is an amethyst slice, with the crystalline crust covered in a very thin layer of gold. If this has been electroformed, how was the amethyst connected to the gold backing? Would any one use gold and then connect the two parts with adhesive?
Alternatively if this were a bezel of high carat gold, say 0.3mm thick, it could have been carefully soldered on and then burnished into place over the crystals, but probably not as closely as the picture shows.
My feeling is there might be a third way. Dennis.

[Cathy at the Beach]

You know...the comment below the image says its a brass feather and a gold filled chain. Makes me wonder about that "bezel" -- If i went to all that work making that gold bezel I wouldn't use brass or gold filled.

[MuranoSilver]

Dennis ~ Looks like there's a pin drilled into the amethyst at the top so I don't think the edge decoration provides
much (if any) strength to the piece....Elecroformed (yes much better word than plated :Y:)
Lucy & Cathy ~ Think you're right & makes me think it's similar to the stones I spotted at Best Crystals.
I know of someone who electroforms her glass beads ~stunning work
Nic x

[Silver_Witch]

hello thanks for replying:) muranosilver i think your right when u say its electroplated, does this cost a lot to do? i might try and set it some sort of bezel with claws that would probably be easier and better for me.

[Lucy]

Cathy - its only a very thin plating layer - deffinately no more than would be used to "plate" gold fill.