Jewelry Fabrication

My unique jewelry is created with handmade chain, ocean-tumbled beach stones and fabricated hollow beads.  All of my pieces are crafted from sterling silver, copper and brass metals that are oxidized and given an antique matte finish.

Each handmade chain starts with round wire in different gauges. This wire is wrapped into a coil and cut with a jeweler’s saw into separate links. Each link is hard-soldered with a jeweler’s torch and hammered flat, then textured with a rolling mill. These soldered joints are cut open, married to the next link then re-soldered. All of my handmade chains are created using this technique.

I carefully select each beach stone for their color, shape, and naturally smooth texture. These stones then undergo a process before made into a unique piece of jewelry. The beach stones will be set in one of two ways:  

Bezel Setting: When I set a beach stone in a bezel, first I grind one side flat on a water-fed diamond lapidary wheel, then I wrap the beach stone with a thin strip of metal that will hold it in place.

Tube Setting: Many of my pieces are designed to showcase the whole beach stone. To do this I will drill a small hole in the center of the stone using a small hollow core diamond drill bit submerged in water and then sink a sterling tube into the hole to create a "rivet". The sterling tubes are flanged out by using different sizes of dapping punches (steel rods with round ball on top), set in a vise and then planished flat around the beach stone to create a smooth finish perfect for earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.

My studio is located in the Atlantic Works building on the waterfront in East Boston. To schedule a studio visit, please contact me at jcw@jayewoodstock.com .