Making a silver arm bracelet

Whoever says wedding says unique jewels and it is certainly not an artisan jeweler who contradicts you.

This project of snake arm bracelet it was tailor-made for the wedding of one of our customers.

As you know, the serpent is a centuries-old source of inspiration for jewelry, and many ancient Greek and Roman jewelry draws inspiration from the serpent image of Egyptian civilization when making princely serpent jewelry.

This is a great hand forged solid silver jewelry project, very different from the silver bracelets in our catalog and much more difficult to make than the other custom bracelet projects we are used to making.

Your project, your measurements: your jewel

For her wedding, our client wanted a reproduction of a Hellenic arm bracelet exhibited in a museum in Germany, it is a princely arm bracelet dating back to before Jesus Christ, 300 years before our era.

The original piece is a true work of art in solid gold adorned with a garnet stone. She wanted her own solid silver bracelet, made to fit her arm and adorned with an amethyst stone.

photo of the jewel to be customized in silver

The project then begins for our client by explaining to us exactly what she wants in terms of materials, dimensions for her jewelery as well as finishes for the shine of the metal and the rendering of the snakeskin effect represented on the bracelet.

The photos provided help us understand the difficulty of production.

Our job as jewelers is to study the feasibility of such a piece and combine it with the person’s expectations. At this stage of the project the estimated weight of the jewel is 190 grams, we also estimate the processing times and present the estimate.

Once you accept this, the work can begin. In this specific case it was estimated that three weeks were needed to create the jewel.

Production

Since we produce completely by hand, we can adapt to any design and any size you want.

In the specific case of this jewel, we started from a hot forged silver ingot to lengthen it and then make it take the shape of a snake.

The operation is then repeated to create another massive silver thread which will be the second snake intertwined with the first.

views of the hammering steps to stretch the silver ingot to the desired length

Once the wire is the right diameter and length, we give the wire a flattened shape by hammering again. Then, heating it again, it is curved until it takes the shape of a snake.

This work is delicate, you must take all the necessary precautions to heat the silver without melting it in order to make it malleable enough to be able to twist it.

photos showing the modeling phase of the snake jewels

Little by little the jewel takes shape and comes closer to the model. You then need to work to reproduce the desired dimensions. We can then move on to positioning the amethyst stone in the desired dimensions.

By stoning the stone is cut, with a circular diamond saw the estimated shape is roughly given, then repeated polishing with paper of different grains and abrasive stones allows the stone to be modeled and polished.

view of the stoning phase of an amethyst stone

After stoning the stone can be set on its support. This is then soldered into place onto the armband.

Positioning of the amethyst stone set on the bracelet

The jewel is then polished and polished and we begin to work on the surface state of the silver, so that the final rendering of the jewel is consistent. All that remains is to appreciate the final result.

front view of the arm cuff with the desired size

side view of the jewel which reveals the arabesques of the snake and the finish given to the metal

Discover all the stages of creating the personalized bracelet in this video:

I recently discovered that the original gold piece, on display at the Pforzheim Museum in Germany, had been sold at auction for a small fortune. Estimated at over $25,000, it sold for $54,000, as you can see here.

If you want to continue your search for antique jewelry, I invite you to visit this online store dedicated to this theme.

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