Silver Earrings and Necklace

Background:
I made these earrings and necklace out of Precious Metal Clay (PMC) in a one-day workshop. I needed to make something that used most of the techniques we learned. I wanted to do a cloak clasp, but the instructor decided it wouldn't be strong enough. Thus I made the butterfly necklace first (the chain is just a chain I bought). I have had thoughts of putting gems in the top part of the wings (thus the second pic), but have not committed. The second piece I did was the attempt at Romanesque earrings. I didn't have any reference materials with me and was trying to work from memory. I wouldn't put them in an A&S competition, but they pass the 10-foot rule. The interesting thing was learning to mount the gemstones. I am hoping to go farther in my attempt to recreate jewelry this way and am already researching suitable material for my next class in October or December. These items are 0.925 pure silver (they would be 0.999, but were only fired for 2 hours instead of the 6 needed to go that far!).

Mundane butterfly showing some of the techniques I learned
Techniques included the added balls, the added "snake rolls", the 'scratchings' and building up the holes for the jump rings. One of my ideas for the added 'gems'
I did not make the chain.

I learned a few more cutting techniques and these demonstrate one of the gem mounting techniques
The patterns were 'stamped' and the mounting was added (similar to the balls above), You can see the hole for the gem goes all the way through to allow light through
The French ear wires were added after firing and cleaning

Click on picture to enlarge

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