Customised Tie pins: In the making

Customised Tie pins: In the making

Recently, I was asked to create silver tie pin based on existing pieces from our handcrafted men's Irish jewelry range for Cork County Council. These six tie pins are to be hand engraved with the Cork County Council crest. I have been taking photos of each stage of the making process so you can see how we make our jewelry below

Cutting Silver disc using a jewellers saw

Once I had the design approved and they were happy to go ahead, I began cutting out the silver discs. These were all cut by hand using my jeweler's saw. It has an extremely fine blade allowing me to be very precise when cutting.

Filing smooth the edges of a silver tie pin

Removing sharp edges for silver disc

When the discs are cut out, they then need to be filed. This removes any sharp or uneven edges that may have been left by the saw blade.

Heating silver to soften it

I've decided to dome these tie pins to give them a more three dimensional form. I first need to anneal the metal to soften it. This is done by gently heating the piece and quenching it in water. The discs are then soft enough to curve easily in the doming block.

Curving silver using doming block and punch

Now I have six perfectly curved discs ready to have the tie pin soldered on the back.

Silver Tie pins ready to be soldered

The finished pieces will look quite like this Cork tie pin I created but I will post more photos of the next stages of making very soon!

Finshed silver tie pin

 

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