Sterling Silver Wire-Wrapped Denim Lapis Lazuli Earrings

by Leah C. Eastman
(Akron, Ohio, USA)

Hi everyone!

I call these my "ultimate chandelier" earrings because they are big, bold and shiny!

One of my favorite things about these earrings is the fact that the final design was created as a solution to a problem, which ultimately made these earrings that much more interesting and unique.

I really like working with sterling silver wire and experimenting.

So, I often start by cutting two or four pieces of wire to the same length; and then using wire-wrapping pliers, I twist, turn and bend the wires into a fun, pleasing, and balanced design.

If I want all the strands of wire to have the same design, I wrap them at the same time for consistency in the look and shape.

In this project, I cut four pieces of equal length 16 gauge sterling silver wire and wrapped them all at the same time.

I then decided to make earrings out of them (sometimes I just don't know where my designs will lead me!!) so I planned to use two of the shaped wires for each earring.

To make the design more interesting, I flipped the wires so each pair was going in the opposite direction, to create a mirror image.

To attach each pair of wires, I used a thinner gauge sterling silver wire to wrap them where the loops/bends met, right in the center of the earring design.

Here is where is got interesting.

I found that even after wrapping the pair of designed wires (for each earring), they were not secure because they would move forward or backward (3 dimensionally speaking).

Well, I believe in making very sturdy, secure and well made jewelry, so I needed to introduce another element to stabilize the pieces.

I decided to make 3/4 hoops with little end loops and attach it to the underside of the top layer (with more wrapping of wire of course - and hammering of the 3/4 circles!).

And to further stabilize the earrings and incorporate one of my favorite gemstones, Denim Lapis Lazuli, I found the right size beads that would fit in the openings on the top and bottom loops of the top layer.

From there, I embellished the earrings further, by attaching sterling silver oval and round jump rings, sterling silver dangly headpins strung with more Denim Lapis Lazuli beads and s.s. beads and finishing the earrings with my own handcrafted s.s. earwires.

I do say that these earrings are not for the faint of heart.

They are weighty but they make an amazing statement all by themselves (especially if you wear your hair up).

They are one of a kind and will never be duplicated.

Thanks for looking!

Leah Comanor-Eastman
Savvy Silver Jewelry
Savvy Silver Blog
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