The Gemstone Detective — Reticulated Silver

Travel is a vehicle for inspiration for an artist.  Inspiring and overwhelming at times with all the visual stimulation.  Patterns abound.   Even the mirrored images of buildings seen reflected in the the Arno River in Florence or the floor tiles in a gallery located in an ancient palazzo in Venice can provide ideas for earrings, pendants and rings.  There are also beautiful displays of gelato and sorbetto! This is why Ellen Lyons carries a sketchbook at all times.  From Venice, to Florence, through both the Tuscan and Umbrian hills and all the way to Rome.  Always.   A sketchbook,...

Hot and sweltering in Seattle but not in the cool studio.   Have a look around the revamped site.   See something you like?   Buy it!  It won't be here for long.   Fall is just around the corner.....

Reticulated Silver is a mix of sterling (.925), fine silver (.999) and copper (.075).   The metal is repeatedly heated, quenched and pickled.   During this process, the copper content is concentrated at the core of the metal, surrounded by a skin of fine silver.  Then, during the reticulation process, a very hot flame from a jeweler’s torch is moved in a specific pattern to bring the copper core to a melting point that in turn creates a liquid within the silver skin.  The path and angle of the flame affects the textures created, very often resembling a mountain peak,...