My first metalsmithing class

Our teacher taught us all the basics: how to saw (how to replace a broken saw blade), how to make a bezel, how to solder, how to file and sand, and how to polish our finished pieces. We learned about all the different tools, the different hammers, torches, rolling mills, polishers, and so on. When she turned us loose on our first project, she provided a small piece of sterling silver sheet metal, bezel wire--for those who needed it--and a choice of a few different stones.

I chose a black onyx oval cabochon. I had this idea in my head--an irregular shape that I lovingly referred to as the "splat". After sketching this shape around the stone, on my scratch paper, attached the paper to the surface of my sheet metal and cut along the lines to transfer the shape.

After filing and sanding the metal shape, I proceeded to make the bezel using flat bezel wire and a pair of safety scissors. That's right, the bezel is that thin and soft. I used the safety scissors to trim the length and height of the bezel. With help from my teacher, I soldered the bezel to the metal "splat". I cleaned up the piece once more and pressed the stone into the bezel...perfect fit! All that was left was pressing the bezel over the edge of the stone, to hold it in place, and then a final polish.

There it was, my first piece of metal jewelry.

(It must've looked delicious because, before I was able to get a chain for it, our dog pulled it off the dresser and chewed on it. It was sitting in a plastic bag, and he just snagged it and started gnawing on it. Bad dog. Fortunately, I was able to take it back to class, hammer the edges flat and remove most of the scratches.)