You are here: Home / Archives for Precious Metal Clay

Sterling Silver Fabricated Anemone Ring

October 30, 2007 By 4 Comments

Here’s a new twist on an old favorite. This ring was fabricated (as apposed to casting) using Sterling Silver sheet and wire, oxidized to enhance detail.

My prior Anemone designs (seen here) were all hand sculpted using Precious Metal Clay (PMC). The benefits of fabrication vs. casting / PMC are: 1.) Longer Wear due to greater density (often years longer on ring shanks and prongs); 2.) Crisper and Cleaner detail of a design; 3.) Greater resistance to scratching; 4.) More brilliant polish.

Hand Fabricated Sterling Silver Anemone Ring

If you are interested in finding out more about the fabrication process, I would highly recommend checking out Review: Art of Hand Fabricated Jewelry Design | All Things Metal Clay

Recommended Reading

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Anemone, Apposed, Art Design, Art Jewelry, Density, Fabricated Ring, Jewelry Design, New Twist, Oxidized, oxidized silver, Patina, PMC, Precious Metal Clay, Prongs, Resistance, ring shanks, Silver Ring, Silver Wire, Sterling Silver Sheet

The Bead Shop Features John S. Brana – Distinctive Jewelry

December 26, 2006 By 1 Comment

The Bead Shop Features John S. Brana - Distinctive Jewelry

In celebration of its 25th anniversary and introduction of 2007 spring class curriculum “Awaken Your Creativity,” The Bead Shop (www.beadshop.com) of Palo Alto, CA features former student John S Brana. Owner Janice Parsons remarks “Over the past twenty-five years, I have seen students become recognized jewelry designers, bead store owners, and successful importers. I remember when John Brana first walked through the doors of The Bead Shop. John came in to take a class and from then on, he will tell you, he just wasn’t the same. What happened to John happens every day at The Bead Shop; I call it the “Creative Light Bulb Moment”. It’s the instant when a new beader realizes s/he can actually make something… s/he can actually make jewelry! And, when you have that epiphany, you feel fantastic!”

Bold in scale, unique, and distinctive, John S. Brana’s pieces are perfect for those who enjoy interesting jewelry design and are seeking to make an unusual statement. Working in sterling silver, fine silver, 14K, 18K, 22K, 24K yellow and white gold wire, and pure silver and 22k gold precious metal clay, John combines various hand carved semi-precious gemstone beads, fresh water pearls, and natural faceted gemstones to create unique, one-of-a-kind, custom handcrafted art jewelry for both men and women.

For an online portfolio, please visit www.johnsbrana.com

Recommended Reading

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: Art Jewelry, Bead Shop, Bead Store, Beader, Class Curriculum, Creative Light, distinctive jewelry, Faceted Gemstones, fresh water pearls, Jewelry Design, Jewelry Designers, John S Brana, Palo Alto Ca, precious gemstone beads, Precious Metal Clay, semi precious gemstone beads, Shop Www, Spring Class, Th Anniversary, Twenty Five Years

Starfish Ring Added to the Sea Cliff Collection

November 20, 2006 By 1 Comment

Starfish Ring - Sea Cliff Collection

Found over 20 years ago off the west coast of Florida on the beach at Sanibel Island, I ran across this little starfish the other day and decided to turn it into a ring. Handcrafted in Fine Silver using PMC(Precious Metal Clay), the ring is set with a 4mm faceted Peridot and finished with a patina to enhance detail.

Peridot is the birthstone for the month of August. According to folklore, Peridot brings its wearer success, peace, and good luck. Peridot has been found in Egyptian jewelry dating as far back as the early second millennium BC and was mined from the volcanic island of Zebirget, or St. Johns Island, in the Red Sea. Native Hawaiians referred to Peridot crystals as the tears of Pele, their goddess of fire.

This ring, along with other sea creatures can be found under my Sea Cliff Collection. Keep watching for more critters over the next few weeks.

Recommended Reading

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Birthstone, Critters, Crystals, Egyptian Jewelry, Folklore, Goddess Of Fire, Good Luck, Handcrafted, Millennium Bc, Month Of August, Patina, Peace, Peridot, Precious Metal Clay, Red Sea, Sea Cliff, Sea Creatures, St Johns Island, Volcanic Island, West Coast

Fine Silver Anemone Rings Added to the Sea Cliff Collection

November 2, 2006 By 5 Comments

Anemone Fine Silver Ring - Sea Cliff Collection

I always get asked where I get my inspiration for my designs, so I thought I would share with you how I came up with these two rings. On October 15th, Nature aired “Oceans in Glass: Behind Scenes of the Monterey Bay Aquarium The Aquarium features over 30,000 animals and plants that live in replicated ocean environments, so after taking a drive down to Monterey this past weekend, I thought I would try to capture the beauty of Anemones currently on view at the Rocky Shore exhibit.I handcrafted these two rings in Fine Silver using PMC(Precious Metal Clay), then finished by applying a patina to enhance the detail. These two rings, along with other sea creatures can be found under my Sea Cliff Collection. I plan on adding a few more critters to the collection over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Recommended Reading

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Anemone, Anemones, Animals And Plants, Beauty, Critters, Inspiration, Monterey Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Ocean Environments, Oceans, Patina, Precious Metal Clay, Rocky Shore, Sea Cliff, Sea Creatures, Silver Rings