Tutorial: Swarovski Crystal and Sterling Silver Butterfly Pendant Necklace

by Leah C. Eastman
(Savvy Silver Jewelry)

Today I am going to give a how-to on the process of making my butterfly necklace.

Methods and Materials

Preparing to Solder:

There are many different methods to silversmithing and I was taught to use hard solder (sheets of metal that you cut into tiny little slivers or squares) and a propane tank.

The hard solder must be solder made for sterling silver soldering and there are 3 main types, "hard", "medium" and "easy", which designate specific temperatures required to melt and flow the metal solder to connect two sterling silver joints.

I also learned that a firebrick is essential (often made out of a compressed ceramic fire retardant material) so as not to burn your surface or cause a fire.

Additionally, it retains and reflects the heat back onto the metal (sterling silver in my case) so as to properly heat up the entire piece of the project.

There are different soldering techniques, but for sterling silver, you really need to get the s.s. wire/sheet hot over the entire surface to cause the solder to properly melt and flow between the two joints.

You also need flux, which is a flowing agent that also helps prevent oxidation and that is usually brushed onto the place where the s.s. wire joints will meet.





Soldering the Piece:

You then place your solder between the two joints.

It can be tricky as to where to place it and I would take a class to really understand the technique.

It depends if you are creating a bezel (fine, thinner wire and a 3 dimensional piece) or some other involved project.

Also, the little pieces of solder metal tend to jump towards the heat (and away from the joint) so it requires a lot of finesse.



Smoothing and Cleaning:

After you are done soldering your piece together, you then need to pull out your Dremel tool (it has sanding wheels, points, etc.) and smooth down the joints and the extra solder that is unsightly.

It is also a handy tool to clean off stubborn oxidation (firescale) that leaves your piece blackened, if that is not the look you are going for.

Lastly, to clean the piece and shine it up (this is often a subjective opinion as to the finish you would like on your handmade jewelry piece), you need to put it into a pickling solution (which cleans away all the grease, surface oxidation or firescale and flux after you have completed each stage of your soldering).

I use a sodium bisulfate product that is combined with water and kept in a little crock pot at a consistent 140 degrees F.


Sanding and Polishing to Your Desired Finish:

You then need to sand the piece to a finish you desire, which could be oxidized (blackened) on all or parts of the surface, a brushed/matte finish or a high gloss shine.

You can use the Dremel tool for this, wet/dry sand paper, steel wool, etc.

I start out with a heavier grit sand wheel on my Dremel tool, and work my way to finer grit as I go.

I always use the steel wool as my final level of cleaning/sanding the surface.

In my silversmithing class, I had access to a large buffing and polishing wheel, which was great.

I have one in my barn that was my father-in-law's but haven't purchased the accessory wheels and compounds as of yet.

Instead, I have a buffing wheel that fits on my Dremel tool; and for the size of my projects, this does a fine job buffing out any remaining scratches.

I then use a polishing cloth to shine up my wire.

Actual Process of Making the Butterfly Necklace

Sketching the Butterfly:

As you can see from the picture above, I made a butterfly frame out of sterling silver.

I did this by sketching the outline shape of a butterfly body, head and wings (yes, I sketched it! Really I had to in order to make this work).

I also really wanted to add antennas but was uncertain as to whether I should do this by soldering them because they would only have one soldering point, making them quite fragile, weak and likely to get snagged.

So, I decided I would worry about the antennas later ....

... go on to
Part 2:
Finishing the Butterfly
and the Necklace.

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Leah Comanor-Eastman
Savvy Silver Jewelry
Savvy Silver Blog
Savvy Silver Jewelry on Etsy