Etched Sterling Silver 4 Petal Flower Earrings

Etching is a fun but time-consuming process. I start out with sheet silver, then print the pattern on special paper. I burnish the design onto the heated metal and then peel off the paper. The silver sheet is then floated on an acid bath where the exposed metal gets etched with the pattern. The silver is neutralized in a bath and the special blue paper for the design is scrubbed off with a solvent.

I cut out the earrings from the silver sheet using a jeweler's saw. I filed and smoothed the edges. I heated the earrings numerous times to draw the pure silver to the surface. I burnished 24K Gold foil on, a process called Keum boo. I then painted patina onto the etched surface to accentuate the design.

I love this unique design which I took from my Indian pattern book. The petals remind me of hearts around a central square. The detail in the etch is picked out very well by the patina.

These are elegant and dressy besides being totally unique.

Dimensions: 1 and 1/2 inches petal tip to petal tip.

Ear wires are sterling silver. These can be changed to comfortable sterling silver clip ons for an additional charge.