Articulated Flower Ring

This is the second project in Stage 4 of the Silver Program at Jewellery Training Solutions (I skipped the very first project, at least for now, which is wax carving). I almost skipped this project - I found it really intimidating and wasn’t sure I could do it. I’m so glad I went ahead and worked through this, though, since it was an excellent practice of skills! The hollow sphere was fabricated, and both the flower base and the sphere spin freely.

What were the challenges?

Making the sphere was the first challenge - learning how to dome it enough to make it perfectly round, and also soldering the seam so and finishing so it was absolutely invisible. Laying out and cutting the pattern in the base was very challenging, making sure everything was very even and symmetrical. I was really worried about soldering both the sphere, and the unit to the ring, but both of those steps went very well.

Where could I improve?

I’m actually very happy with how this project turned out. I do have one crack in the bottom section of the ball, caused by not annealing enough while I was forming it. The cuts on the flower base could be more even as well.

What did I learn?

I learned how to make a hollow sphere - something I’ve always wondered how to do! Also how to solder these to the ring and still allow them move freely. This was an excellent skills project, and I really enjoyed making it!