Hand made Sterling silver Abalone shell Necklace with 2 round brilliant VS1 Diamonds

100% hand fabricated abalone shell. I worked so hard on this one. Started with a small piece of sheet silver and a whole lot of sterling silver wire. Hammering, annealing, grinding, etc…  I learned how to fuse and carve from Nicole Ringgold of Winthrop, Wa. I’ve been fortunate enough to take two of her in-studio classes, and I walked away from this last one with a firm grasp on fusing. I love it. My favorite part is the carving of the details, which I spent a TON of time on this shell. A part of me wants to keep it, but it’s a big statement type necklace that I know I’ll never wear. I added two VS1 round brilliant diamonds inside two of the barnacles on the front. Pendant is on a swivel bail and weighs just over a full ounce of silver. From tip of bail to tip of shell, it is 2.5″ long. A real statement piece, and one that I am damn proud of. The hours I have in this piece is insane. I spent the ENTIRE week working on it in class, and then came home and worked on it another week. I will get faster…. I can feel it.  Hopefully it will be the first of many!!