Whiskey on the Rocks Necklace

After fighting off viruses and staunching wounds in the first half of the week, I finally managed to sit down today in my studio (okay, well, stand up, as I have to do most of my hammering on the window sill of the nearby laundry room) and complete a necklace I've been dreaming of since I purchased a strand of gorgeous facetted whiskey quartz beads.

I haven't had much time lately to do a lot of silver work, plus I've been working with a lot more gold due to the autumn colors I've been using, but I really wanted to forge a beautiful sterling chain that would highlight the spectacular beauty of the whiskey quartz pendant. Although it goes beautifully with gold (see my previous blog entitled "Whiskey and Pearls by Firelight"), I thought the purity of silver was needed for this necklace.

Working with silver is a source of great pleasure for me. I love forming links by hand and eyeball, I love soldering, I love hammering (especially hammering!). There is something immensely satisfying in making something as solid as a chain from something as simple as wire.

I wanted the main links of the chain to mimic the shape of the pendant, or perhaps to mimic the shape of ice cubes floating in a crystal glass full of whiskey. I joined the larger links with smaller ones, which I hammered to give a texture distinct from the smoothly hammered larger links, and then twisted slightly for additional visual interest. I finished it off with a handforged s-hook clasp which enables the wearer to extend the necklace from 16-18 inches.

I am thinking of trotting out my Liver of Sulphur (I know: what a name! And an even worse smell!) and making a similar necklace with oxidized silver. I like the idea of dark grey silver next to the warm tawny gold of the whiskey quartz.