Doreen had seen a beautiful torc on a friend and thought that something similar would be just the thing for her sister's wedding in December so she packed up a number of rose gold chains and bracelets that hadn't been worn in years and popped on down to the studio in Windy Arbour. As with any occasion where someone has enough gold for multiple projects we discussed all sorts of options from bangles, through rings and pendants and created a plan of action before embarking our first project...
Handmade rose gold torc
Work began with something like 90g of gold which was more difficult to melt than usual on account of its sheer mass, however it made up for this by being a remarkably malleable and ductile alloy! The rough shape was forged using the rolling mills so that when the length was flattened it tapered from narrow at the nape to generous at the collarbone. It was quite the task manipulating and annealing this great length of metal until if finally curved to my will, but once the curve started to come together things moved faster. There was much hammering, filing and cleaning back and all of the lemel (metal filings) produced was caught in readiness for the next project - more of which next time.
Doreen called to fit the necklace shortly afterwards and we made some amendments to the curve on her neck so that it would sit as snugly as possible against the breast bone while skimming the collar bones. I also removed some extra length at the back to make it easier to take on and off - I don't know how many times I've been told that "it's easy to take metal away, but there's no putting it back" and this particular truism has stuck fast!
A short while later Doreen returned to collect her finished torc, now fully polished and perfect for that December wedding.
If you have a project you'd like to explore please feel free to drop me a line here or pick up the phone and give me a bell on 0877956321.