Carnelian pear-shaped cabochon pendant

One Christmas I decided to make gifts for some of the women in my extended family. My wife and I looked online for inspiration and came up with ideas for each person, based on their personal style and taking into account other pieces I had made for them in the past. Of all the designs that year, this was one of my most ambitious.

The back of the setting was cut from sterling silver sheet. I cut a teardrop-shaped hole in the back, to allow light to pass through when held to the light. The bezel is made from a flat bezel wire. Two more types of wire were added, to create the fine detail around the bezel, and on the bail. These half-round beaded pattern wires add detail to the setting and bail, and when the patina is applied they added to the antique look of the piece.

After the setting and bail were polished to remove the excess patina, the flat-backed stone (cabochon) was pressed into place. The bezel was notched with a triangular file where the pear-shaped stone comes to a point, in order to make the bezel lay better against the stone. The bezel was pushed over the stone and burnished, and the piece was polished one (or five) more time(s).

This piece is one of my favorite projects and I expect my future work will use some of the same elements. I'm a big fan of the pattern wires and will be using those more.