Earrings Etched Sterling Silver Sun Rays

Etching these Sterling Silver Sun Ray Earrings is a fun, but time consuming process. I start out with sheet silver, and print the sun pattern on special paper. You burnish the design on to the heated metal and then peel off the paper. The silver sheet is then floated on an acid bath. The exposed metal gets etched with the selected pattern. The metal is neutralized in a bath. The blue paper is scrubbed off with a solvent.

This sun ray pattern is from my Japanese Design book.  After sawing both earrings out with a jeweler's saw, they were filed, sanded and the edges were refined till they were smooth. I heated them several times till the pure silver rose to the surface. I burnished 24K Gold Foil onto the central sun, a process called Keum boo. I painted the ends of the sun rays with patina for definition and color.

These earrings are striking and stylish.

Dimensions: 1 and 1/2 inches diameter. Sterling silver ear wires. These can be changed to comfortable sterling silver clip ons for an additional charge.