How to Make a Red Rose Silver Bracelet

Jewelry designer Jessie Turner of Vancouver, Canada, demonstrates how to create this silver and enameled red rose bracelet.

Materials Needed:

• sterling silver sheet
• sterling silver wire
• copper sheet
• red powder enamel
• enamel sieve
• Klyr fire (fusing glue)
• acid resist (asphaltum)
• etching acid in a container
• patina
• punches
• wood dapping punch and wood dapping block
• metal dapping punch and metal dapping block
• mallet
• files
• emery paper

• scribing tool
• acid pickle in heated crock-pot
• container of water
• two-part epoxy
• tweezers
• square-nose pliers
• round-nose pliers
• t-bar clasp
• silver jump rings
• flux
• solder and solder oxygen acetylene torch
• tumbler
• rubber gloves
• metal mesh tripod

Steps:

1. Cut three circles from a sterling silver plate using a punch and mallet. Place them one at a time in a wood dapping block and create a dome shape (cup) using a dapping punch.

2. Place each silver cup in a metal dapping block and use a metal dapping punch to create a deeper dome shape.

3. Smooth the edges with files and emery paper.

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4. Wearing rubber gloves, coat two of the dome-shaped cups with asphaltum (acid resist). Let dry for 10 minutes.

5. Inscribe desired words/phrases in the resist with a scribing tool.

6. Place two cups in an acid-etching bath to etch away the words. Remove the remaining resist in a heated acid pickle and rinse in water (Image 1).

7. Cut three jump rings in half. Apply flux to the back of the cups and, using an oxygen acetylene torch, solder two of the half rings onto the backs of the cups so they can be linked together. Place the cups in the heated pickle and rinse (Image 2).

8. To make the enamel rose, punch out a circle from copper sheeting. Punch a hole in the center of the copper creating a donut shape.

9. Using metal cutters, cut a slit from the outer edge of the circle to the inner edge of the circle, cutting the donut apart only at the slice.

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