Excited to offer you more of my 'Maidenheads' - human-made 'gemstones' for you to use in your jewelry creations, brought to life by me in the ancient painstaking process of vitreous enamel painting.
They start their life as highest-grade sheet copper, which I hand-saw out in a unique shape. I then paint in my original design in powdered glass - brushing on one layer, then firing this till vitrified, then another and so on. This process creates great depth as well as single smooth surface of permanently bonded glass. Real Liquid gold was used to paint celestial designs in each visage.
Watch this video to see me create one of these pieces!
The back of these pieces is flat and has been counter-enamelled with dark-blue glass. It is signed with my initials and dated with the year.
Each of these pieces has had around 20 firings in total, and takes 7 hours to make. The resulting human-made gemstone is completely individual with her own personality. She is only waiting to inspire you to contextualize her within your own jewelry.
Note: None of the pieces are symmetrical and each will contain little quirks- zoom in onto those photos.
The cabochon is flat at the back and some of these curve up only slightly so an intermediate (or ambitious!) gemsetter should be able to tackle setting them.
At a Glance
- Vitreous enamel on copper
- Size: ≈ 28mmX20mm
- Profile (height) ≈ 1mm
- Weight: ≈1g
- Flat back with counter enamel layer
Care and setting Instructions:
Unlike many gemstones and many pretty things on earth - vitreous enamel will not fade with time, nor is it affected by sunlight or water. It will look as beautiful today as a millennium from now. It is harder to scratch than most gemstones.
However you should treat it like a soft stone. The gold lustre layer though permanently bonded is extremely thin so it can totally be scratched or buffed off by accident if a buffing wheel or grit is applied. If dropped, the enamel might chip. After being set and finished, it will be quite strong - but the piece should be cared for the way handmade jewelry is cared for, protecting it from shocks, drops, and chemicals.
