Silver Gold Medallion With Petals

This beautiful sterling silver medallion looks like a very geometric Sunflower with precise petals. I found the design in my Japanese Pattern book. A very dressy piece on a simple outfit.

Etching is an interesting process. The pattern is copied onto blue Press and Peel paper. It is burnished onto heated sterling silver sheet. Once the piece cools, the paper is peeled off, the design is left on the silver, sort of like a tattoo. The silver piece is placed in an acid bath which etches the design into the silver. After the etch is deep enough, the silver is placed in a neutralizing solution. The remains of the blue paper is cleaned off. The piece is sawed away from the sheet silver, filed, refined and polished. 

I depletion gilded the piece and burnished 24K Gold Foil on the heated silver. This is an ancient Korean process called Keum Boo. I painted the dots in the pattern with patina for color contrast.

Dimensions : 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter. 18 inch Sterling silver snake chain