Jewelry 101: 155 Headpins

Ever wonder what kind of work goes into making the tiny little pieces of jewelry? I took a few snapshots the last time I made headpins (155 of them at once!) to show you.

First, I get a coil of fine silver wire. Fine silver is 99.9% silver (as opposed to sterling silver which is 92.5% silver). This means that fine silver has fewer other metals in the alloy--that's good news if you're allergic. It also means that the silver wire can be melted without creating some black stuff called firescale that needs to be pickled off.  Then I cut the coil of silver wire into 2.5 inch strips.

Using a butane torch, much like you foodies might use for creme brulee, I melt the end of one piece of the wire so that it forms a ball. I couldn't take a picture of this because I need one hand to hold the torch and the other to hold the wire, and I'm just not proficient enough to take a picture with my foot while juggling open flame.

After balling the end, I quench the piece in cold water, put the headpins in the tumbler for 30 minutes, and then polish. Voila!

These headpins are used in pieces like this onyx necklace. See the little silver balls under the onyx beads? Those are the balled headpins!