Wedding tiara creation process - Beginning Posted on 18 Jun 15:30

It's always good to check you have all the information and things you need for doing the jewelry.

• Idea or designs (final ones or at least enough to create raw version of the jewelry piece)
• Measurements (customers)
• Answered questions about design decisions
• Tools and materials
• Recording equipment (currently only camera, later I'm going to do videos about my jewelry creation process)

Idea and designs - The soil

Idea and designs were gone through with the customer and we ended up selecting these designs for the front and side of the tiara.

Here is the final front design of the tiara. Choosing this particular design was straight forward. We had gone through several possibilities and this was the most satisfying and practical as well as the most aesthetic of the designs.

And here is the final side design of the tiara which was the favourite choise of us both. Simple, flowing, beautifull and strong connection to the forests daughter.

Measurements and answers - The hole in the ground

At this point I took measurements and she answered questions about the final design decisions. I basically created templates which to use in the jewelry piece creation process. 

Here are all the tiara finishing design patterns side by side. The patterns I made on brass thread which is a bit harder than sterling silver so getting it to look like it would look on silver took a bit of strength.

Here are some closeups on the tiara finishing design patterns from option one to four.

And here are final closeups of the tiara finishing design patterns from option five to eight.

We ended up in selecting the visually pleasing pattern number eight (the last one). It reminded the flow of nature the most.

After selecting the finishing patterns I measured her head and made a band to use as a measuring template when making the tiara. I also made a rough measuring tool for the tiaras front pattern.

Next it was time to piece the front design together from brass so we could see what the size and feel would be like against her forehead.

The materials - The seeds

Here are the materials which will transformed to the final piece. Simple sterling silver thread, silver chain and the green agate are enough for the tiara (after a lot of soldering and shaping may I point out). And a small loop of silver and ready made Harmony - Vesica Piscis Pendant for the ring.

And the tools - The sun and water

The jewelry smiths needs tools to transform the materials into the desired form. Here are some of the tools I use in the creation process. I don't have any pictures (yet) of the imaginative scaffolds I usually create to hold the pieces together while soldering them.

First I took out tools for cutting and bending. Wire cutters to cut sharp edges and several pliers to bend the wire (round or straight)

 Then I picked the soldering tools that included my trusty curved soldering tweezers, solder (this time I used paste) and a micro torch.

After which came the tools for creating the requested finish to the tiara. A flat anvil and couple of hammers are enough to create a interesting and forged finish to the jewelry piece.

Finally the tools for removing imperfections and polishing. I use several different large and small files to remove any unwanted materials and excess solder from visible spots. My trusty burnisher is used to create shine to the final jewelry piece.

Next to come - Continuing the creation process (pieces and putting them together)

On my next blog I will write about the creation of jewelry piece parts and putting them together by soldering.