Better Bezels

I have set a goal for myself: Get Better at Soldering

Soldering, especially making bezels, has been my primary point of frustration when it comes to my jewelry making skills. When all goes well, it seems like some kind of magical alchemy. I want to take the magic out of the equation and have any success be the result of actual skill.

The other night I was determined to make a couple of bezels and ended up with these two pieces. I first cut pieces of metal that I had previously etched. The left piece is silver nickel and the right is copper. I used fine silver bezel wire and sized it to some cabochons that I bought at a gem show. I don't even remember what these stones are, but I think the left one is a type of jasper and the right one (?).....no idea. I just like the dreamy, opalescent quality of that stone. I bought a bag of cabochons similar to these so that I could use them for my better bezel journey. My bezeling did not go as smoothly as I would have liked and each piece took a couple of attempts. It is so disheartening to take a piece that you thought was a successful solder out of the pickle pot only to realize that it was actually a stinking failure.

These bezels still need to be cleaned up a bit before I can incorporate them into finished pieces.

The etching on the back side of the copper makes an interesting texture that I plan to highlight with liver of sulfur. I plan to rivet the silver nickel bezel to another piece of metal to make it a more substantial, layered piece.