Keeping custom work period-appropriate. How important is it to you?

[Rfisher]

Love the idea of the select areas of matte yellow,
But if you could get the jeweler to pull off a bloomed finish x2!

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Can I suggest that the length of the ear wires be increased a little And re-centered upon the first rosette with a forward swoosh? These are @missy ’s earrings and the way the wire swoops and curves is such a beautiful and balancing compliment to the overall piece.


If you didn’t like them long, you could have them shortened easily. But the visual balance works better with that original swoop forward, and so many modern attempts miss the mark on it. If you were to hold the earring with a toothpick In the center of this shepherd hook, it would balance itself.




A bit better:

Sorry the illustration is so rough!

 

[yssie]

@PreRaphaelite Ahh. The dark art of effective articulation

You're right. Attaching the hook to the back of the motif without some equalizing weight on the other side of the lobe will force it to fall forward. Thank you.

Let me toss in another of my neuroses: I don’t like moving parts (besides chain or swaying on jump rings) - no hinges, clips, levers. I’ve got a few pairs that feature some sort of movement mechanism I’m always too worried about wear and tear to just enjoy wearing them

To be honest I’m rethinking the two drops altogether, I think there’s just no way around too heavy with both the collet and the not-exactly-delicate-or-airy buttercup... The bottom one would become uncomfortably pendulous.
So just one motif. For which I will take your recommendation to #MakeLike@missy's and lower the drop with forward wire swoosh (love that description)

 

[bright ice]

@yssie here’s another similar option that I really love!

 

[PreRaphaelite]

@PreRaphaelite Ahh. The dark art of effective articulation

You're right. Attaching the hook to the back of the motif without some equalizing weight on the other side of the lobe will force it to fall forward. Thank you.

Let me toss in another of my neuroses: I don’t like moving parts (besides chain or swaying on jump rings) - no hinges, clips, levers. I’ve got a few pairs that feature some sort of movement mechanism I’m always too worried about wear and tear to just enjoy wearing them

To be honest I’m rethinking the two drops altogether, I think there’s just no way around too heavy with both the collet and the not-exactly-delicate-or-airy buttercup... The bottom one would become uncomfortably pendulous.
So just one motif. For which I will take your recommendation to #MakeLike@missy's and lower the drop with forward wire swoosh (love that description)

#MakeLikeMissy is pretty much always a good look!

 

[yssie]

@bright ice Another revival piece, I think!! With a LOT less metal.

I do like the way the buttercup cradles the collet in the version that @PreRaphaelite posted. But pretty much anything that reduces weight without compromising aesthetic is a win in my book.

 

[SallyB]

Personally, I have no issue with reproductions that may not be true to the periods.

I prefer the term period-inpsired.

For example, I love Edwardian and Art Deco jewellery, for their clean lines, geometric shapes and symmetry.

However I only wear white metals, dislike millgrain and claws/prongs except perhaps bar prongs, and have requested for no millgrain and for the centre stone to be bezel set when I request for a piece to be made based on a photo of a period piece.

The design of period pieces inspired me to recreate new pieces based on my personal tastes and preferences.

I would recreate a period piece exactly if there are elements that I do not like.

DK

Claw prongs kind of give me the heebie-jeebies-lol.

I think I was scratched by our cat too many times when I was little, maybe that’s why

 

[ForteKitty]

Given the weight of your diamonds, can I convince you to add something to hold the wire? I’m just so paranoid about it falling out! It’s not period but maybe it doesn’t need to be obtrusive. DK made these for PSers a while back and I’m currently working on a mix between these two designs (can’t decide between one or two drops), with the hinge hook instead of the latch. The link is a video so you can see the backview better, I just took a screenshot for people who don’t want to click.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[mrs-b]

I love both those pairs of earrings, @ForteKitty - just lovely!

@yssie - my feeling is that, if you're making it now, it's a modern piece. It might be an 'ode to', or an homage - but it's a new piece, and - to be authentic - needs to reflect that. To that end, I'd be going wherever you want with it. This is YOUR period - the period of Yssie - and anything that doesn't reflect *that* is falling short. Anything that reflects a piece from the past too accurately becomes, simply, a copy. So the devil on your shoulder is wrong - to copy (I mean periods, not specific designs - I know you'd never do that) without deviation devalues your creativity.

Go wild, girl - you know (and I've told you this specifically) that I believe you need to go to the ends of your creative self to find who you really are; we've seen some magnificent pieces from you, but we have not seen the best of Yssie yet!

Please let go of mental 'rules' - I want to see what you can do when let aaaaalllllll the way out of the box!

 

[Lvoeshinythings]

Not important at all. I like what I like and most times, I don’t know the name or time period of what I like. I just like the look of it and end up saving a screenshot for later.

There is so much room for variation of tastes, who is to say what you prefer isn’t a style within itself?

 

[missy]

Can I suggest that the length of the ear wires be increased a little And re-centered upon the first rosette with a forward swoosh? These are @missy ’s earrings and the way the wire swoops and curves is such a beautiful and balancing compliment to the overall piece.

At first I wasn't sure about the length of the ear wire and I went to a jeweler to get it shortened. He convinced me to only shorten it a drop and to leave much of the length as it was very feminine and graceful and allowed the earring to lay just so. I am glad I listened to him.

@yssie I have to add the movement IMO is what gives it that magic. And of course there is no right or wrong but the articulation adds that special something IMO. I love and appreciate all types of earrings on others but on me it's that gentle movement that makes it romantic and when I feel that swoosh and ever so gentle sway of the earring I feel pretty. Does that make sense? And the jeweler told me that ear wires are very safe whereas lever backs are not as secure. Just another point to consider.

I look forward to seeing what you choose. Your taste is impeccable and no matter what you decide I know it will be breathtakingly gorgeous. Go with your heart. Go with your gut. You cannot go wrong.

 

[AV_]

What comes to mind: there can be degrees or restricted directions of movement with bar or other links etc. - in defence of three, four stations; eg. these www can only move back h forth somewhat & not at all sideways, etc.

 

[yssie]

@mrs-b I'm honestly a bit lost for words here.

I always value your thoughts and you're always generous with them here on PS. But right now, with everything that you've got going on - that you logged into PS, and opened this thread, and found such generous sentiments to share, and shared them so eloquently - thank you.

 

[mrs-b]

@mrs-b I'm honestly a bit lost for words here.

I always value your thoughts and you're always generous with them here on PS. But right now, with everything that you've got going on - that you logged into PS, and opened this thread, and found such generous sentiments to share, and shared them so eloquently - thank you.

Well, y'know....you're my friend and I love you.

 

[yssie]

@ForteKitty, @mrs-b, @Lvoeshinythings, @missy, @AV_ So many great points here!

(@SallyB Apparently my love for claw prongs comes from wanting a cat throughout childhood and never having one )

Missy I totally get what you mean! I feel exactly that way about bracelets. I just love the feeling of a bracelet shifting and sliding... I love the way it looks too

For earrings - I'm the sort of person who wants to put them in and forget I'm wearing them until I see myself in a mirror. I took an inventory of the earrings that I wear regularly: Studs, my Erika Winters bar earrings, my opal earrings from Caysie, my WF briolettes. Different styles, different metals - the one thing they've got in common is that they all have posts. Even my Little H tahitian dangles which are neutral in colour and very lightweight (1.1g each)... They aren't in my go-to rotation because I can't put them in and forget about them, and I think the reason for that is that they dangle on hooks rather than posts.

So... Apparently I *need* posts to guarantee ear-time!

Upside: This conveniently addresses FK's concern of keeping those dangling motifs attached to the ears where they belong
Downside: I can't think of any aesthetically cohesive way to use posts without reintroducing the second smaller motif. Which I'm not thrilled about, I'd really rather avoid both the extra weight and the extra expense if I can. Any ideas?

 

[AV_]

One: many spectacular earrings drop down from a dot-sized diamond stud.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

I‘m not sure if Russian style posts would work to make your earrings feel like posts, but this style shoots straight through the ear and attaches to a minimalist lever in the back.

Anyway, I’m just dropping these ideas off here:

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This second one is a style I’m considering for Edwina, when I find her match. The silver collet is hard to see in these photos, but it’s there. It seems more refined, less rusticated.

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[Inked]

I appreciated your advice to me so much when I was making my ring. You know my opinion on it is: I only need to make me happy because I am the one wearing it. So, I don't concern myself with what 'should be' - what 'should be' is whatever *I* want it to be. My hope for you is that you don't worry about rules and just make something incredibly fabulous that is entirely your vision and creation and is exactly what you like. I am also a huuuuge cat lover (I volunteer at a shelter and have fostered about 100 kittens!) and love love love claw prongs too! I love all the earring designs you're playing with and cant wait to see them!

 

[Rfisher]

@yssie
I’m nosy.
Did you ever proceed on this project?

 

[MjK1]

Interesting thread! I really don't know much about antique earrings, but I am always nervous about losing earrings on hooks. I add a tiny silicone earring back and push it all the way up the hook...it is hidden from view and I know my earrings will stay put...

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I actually thought my opinion was going to be completely at odds with everyone on the thread but it appears it’s actually pretty much the same as everyone else

To put it bluntly: they’re your earrings, and they have to work with you and for you, not against you. Personally, I’m a heathen - I will ruthlessly cannibalise elements of styles that I like in order to put together a piece I like, and have torn apart old pieces of jewelry with a hard heart because ultimately they’re doing me no good, despite their period authenticity, just lying there unworn and unloved. in this case, you wouldn’t even be ripping apart antiques, just playing with style elements, so it’s less “heartless”

 

[yssie]

@Rfisher Yes! My OECs for the bottoms are with Sako right now actually He found a pair of littles (1ctw) for the tops just last week - apparently it was a slog of a search!

I was smitten with the Victorian-Georgian-inspo that @PreRaphaelite posted -

But I told Sako that keeping weight down was a priority and he felt it was going to be way too much metal.

So we’re going with a lighter dormeuse style with a few tweaks to the leverback. WG over YG - I really just can’t do silver, period appropriate or not!


I expect it’ll be a few weeks - possibly months - before anything’s in production. No real rush though, I’ve been sitting on these OECs for eight months already so what’s a couple more

 

[ForteKitty]

I was just thinking about this project yesterday!! Glad you're not going with silver, period or not, I hate the tarnish. It's going to look fabulous!

 

[yssie]

Just a quick update! I got CADs from Sako - actually weeks ago, but I kept forgetting to upload them here





The basket style - he copied the bowl buttercups from the antiques that I loved, rather than the more traditional angular style




We’ll be using three metals - 14k YG, 18k YG, and 14k nickel-WG without rhodium plating:

 

[yssie]

Works in progress











Sako asked if I preferred claws or tab prongs. I picked tabs - I'm loving precisely angular tab prongs these days... And I've never been huge on claws near hair!

 

[glitterata]

To answer your original question: Unless you're planning to take your time machine back to 1812 and are worried about being recognized as a time traveler, captured by Napoleon, and being made to divulge blueprints for the radio, the atom bomb, and the time machine, thus changing the timeline and preventing your grandfather from ever meeting your grandmother, I don't see why you shouldn't arrange the materials and design elements any way you like them.

Looking forward to seeing your earrings!

 

[yssie]

To answer your original question: Unless you're planning to take your time machine back to 1812 and are worried about being recognized as a time traveler, captured by Napoleon, and being made to divulge blueprints for the radio, the atom bomb, and the time machine, thus changing the timeline and preventing your grandfather from ever meeting your grandmother, I don't see why you shouldn't arrange the materials and design elements any way you like them.

Looking forward to seeing your earrings!

 

[lissyflo]

These are going to be stunning @yssie !

I love that Sako provides progress pictures too. I’ve never received them on a project but assume it makes the whole thing feel more inclusive and exciting. Kudos to him for taking the time to do it.

 

[lissyflo]

These are going to be stunning @yssie !

I love that Sako provides progress pictures too. I’ve never received them on a project but assume it makes the whole thing feel more inclusive and exciting. Kudos to him for taking the time to do it.

 

[Rfisher]

!Tabs!