Etched Copper Earrings
May 12, 2008
Here is my first pair of etched copper earrings. They're about an inch in diameter and I've made some tiny wireworked twisted Sterling coils as accents.
They may look elegant in their simplicity, but many steps were involved in getting there. (Click on the photo for a larger version.)
Starting with a thin 3" X 3" sheet of copper, I used very fine steel wool and kitchen cleanser to abrade it; stamped it with decorative designs using special carved stamps and ink.
The sheet was then immersed in a caustic solution for 45 minutes. It emerged quite blackened and had to be steelwooled vigorously to remove all the caustic agent.
Next it was "antiqued" with Liver of Sulfur, a smelly concoction much used by jewelers to add a patina and definition to their pieces. Again vigorous cleaning with the steel wool and then I used a disk cutter to make as many small 1/2" and 3/4" disks as I could out of the now-etched sheet.
Oh yes, I also tried to center the designs to best effect on the disks and each had to be sanded as the cutter had left edges which were quite sharp. Finally, I used a dapping block to form and shape each disk.
At last they were ready to be made into "simple, but elegant" pieces of jewelry!