Silver flower earrings with amethysts

How it is made

The words of the trade, one by one, explained to those who do not know them.

01

Lost-wax casting

The model is built in wax, coated in refractory plaster and then heated until the wax runs out: a void of the exact shape is left, and molten silver is poured into that void. To get the piece out the mold has to be broken, so every casting consumes both the wax and the mold, and the model you started from no longer exists. It is the way to obtain what the saw and the file could not — ribbons crossing over one another, undercuts, voids closed on every side — but if the metal does not reach the end of a thin branch the piece comes out maimed, and there is no fixing it: you melt it down and start again from the wax.

02

Amethyst

Amethyst is purple quartz, and the purple does not come from a pigment: it comes from a few atoms of iron that ended up in the lattice in place of silicon and were then struck by the natural radiation of the rock. That is why the color is almost never laid on evenly — it arranges itself in zones and bands, deeper on one side and paler on the other — and orienting the stone properly on the lap is exactly what spreads it out. It is as hard as citrine, seventh degree, and it is worn every day with no care against scratches; but that purple is the most delicate thing it has. A strong, continuous light fades it, and heat wipes it out altogether: an amethyst heated enough turns yellow, and that is how a good part of the citrine on the market is born. Purple once lost does not come back.

03

Post and butterfly fastening

The post passes through the lobe and a butterfly holds it at the back, two metal wings that grip the stem by themselves. It is the simplest fastening there is, and precisely for that reason it has to be done well: the post has to be soldered perpendicular to the body of the earring, because if it starts even slightly crooked the piece hangs askew on the lobe and there is no straightening it by wearing it. The butterfly, on the other hand, is the part that gets lost: it holds by friction, and friction drops off over the years until one day it no longer holds. You check it by pinching it lightly between two fingers, and when it has stopped offering resistance you change it — it costs little, and it costs a great deal less than the earring.