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Phoenix metalwork bracelet
Every once in awhile you get a project that is so full of inspiration on its own that it’s more about letting it tell its own story than anything I’m directing. 
Enter friend and client SV, who is a very creative person in his own right. It’s his 20th wedding anniversary, and he wanted to give her something special. He proposed on a rollercoaster and got a keepsake squished penny just following. All I had to do was turn the penny into a piece of jewelry.
I treated the penny as though it were a stone cabochon to set. First, I found a good fit for an oval and soldered a half round “bezel” onto silver sheet.
Then, to build the sides of the bracelet, I took a foot of 12 gauge round silver wire and cut it in half, then bent each at the midpoint. Next was to flatten out the ends so that they could eventually be soldered onto the bezel. I knew I wanted this piece to be primarily silver, but copper needed to be incorporated in more than one place. So, I built in copper X details on either side, also providing stability to the bracelet. I had considered copper inlay and various other designs, but this was my favorite on paper. Creating those copper details proved to be more difficult than anticipated.
Next came the soldering of the bezel onto the arms. Then I riveted the penny into its bezel cup in two locations that didn’t disturb the design on the penny. Next it was time to form the cuff and polish. Although it took me a lot of hours over multiple days, it was just the breath of fresh air I needed. It was a design challenge with a dream client that allowed me to exercise some different techniques. And for the happy couple? Here’s to another 20 years–Happy Anniversary!!
