Finally Finished

Front of Pendent shows top cut out of dragon (I made him a happy dragon!) and the carved Jade cab with a cultured pearl,
along with two small jade cabs in each corner. The channel twisted wire frames the shape, I'm not sure if I'm going to leave the surface shinny or texture it. I do think I'll be using liver of sulfur to darken the twist and texture.

This is the back of the piece which I soldered the bail to in a small area around the dragon cutout. I hadn't
intended to place the bail here, however I was lucky enough to have a little solid space to solder. The Phoenix
was a little tricky to cutout but I'm pleased how it turned out. I used the foredom to smooth the cut edges. The back of the
jade shows through and gives life to the Phoenix with its varied shades of green. The little square above the cutout is where I stamped sterling and CAT. I did that so the stamp wouldn't come through to the front. I like the looks of it and I'm thinking I
may continue using that form of identification on my future pendents.

NEW Pendant in progress

So it all started several years ago with the carved jade you see in this photo. I purchased it in a little shop in Charleston SC, and as you can see by the small hole at its top; it is a focus bead. I suppose that is why it has taken all these years to actually use it....I wasn't sure how to include such a large bead. I have decided to ignore the fact that it is a bead and bezel it. Its difficult to see, however I've soldered a post just below the cut out of the dragon so that I can slip the jade over the post and after setting it, I will then place the half drilled fresh water pearl over the post.


The twist channel was such a laborious task to solder around the edges.,.the cutouts of the dragon and the Phoenix were the most enjoyable part of this piece. I first drew a rather quick sketch on the silver with a black marker and after drilling a small hole and placing the saw blade through it, I sawed them out.  The dragon will be seen from the front and the Phoenix will be seen from the back once the big Jade is set. The image below is the back of the piece. I stamped my id...CAT and sterling on the rectangle between the two cut outs.

The image above is me just putting things together temporarily before
I do any soldering. The small 3mm jade cabs in the lower corners will be bezeled and soldered in place.
What I haven't tackled yet is the bail to hang it from. I plan to do some research since this is a rather
large pendant. I want to find as many options and ideas before I decide since the dragon cutout doesn't permit me to
use a traditional bail on the back.