Reflective Report on Soldered & Enamelled ring...

My aim with this piece was mostly to test a technical problem when working with enamel, which was whether I could torch fire and enamelled element once it has been soldered to something i.e. a shank.

The ring design as one similar to a pair of earrings I had previously made which were inspired by the shape and form of a clam.

Ultimately I found out that you can torch fire enamel onto a soldered object, but it depends on how the objects are soldered, and the melting point of the enamel. With my piece the enamel took a while to become vitreous and as a result of this the shank melted into the element on top slightly, and the area around the solder join became incredibly dirty. To clean the joins then became the next problem because most enamels get cloudy when they come into contact with acid, so I had to paint the acid onto the dirty areas with a brush… which worked quite well.

I learned that it is possible, but risky, to enamel soldered objects…

Soldering & Enamel

For a while now I've been wanting to test what would happen if I torch fired enamel on a piece of jewellery that had already been soldered together...



The above two photos show the ring before and after being soldered together.




These photos show the ring after the enamel had been torch fired. The enamel I chose usually takes longer to fire than the other transparent enamels, which is why i decided to test it on the solder joins. Once fired, the metal was more dirty than usual, and the top of the shank had melted into the ring slightly. Other than that, the Enamelling was successful and the solder joins were able to be cleaned by applying acid with a paintbrush to avoid acid coming into contact with the enamel.

Finished Ring

I love the effect that the patina gives to the copper! it reminds me of the slimy mossy surfaces you see in rockpools. And the way the patina solution flows to the shape of the ring gives it that organic, unpredictable quality that you find in the natural world.

Patina Earrings

Ring before patination

Patina Ring

For this next piece i want to make a large ring, like a showpiece. Using the copper and patina technique I'll get the same colours that can be seen on my patina necklace, the shank will be sterling silver. I would ultimately like for these pieces to look like a collection.

It's so blue and stuff...

My patinated necklace is complete! And i really love it...

The pictures above are close ups of the patinated copper elements. I sealed the patination with a matte waterbased glaze.

The above picture is from my photography book, 'Into The Deep'. It was this picture that i used as a reference and inspiration for this piece.


I am really pleased with how my necklae turned out. I learned alot about patination, a process i have never used before. If i ever make this necklace again, one thing i would change however, is the lenth of the chain. Personally i love longer chains, but if this chain was shorter the patinated elements would be spread out and ultimately better displayed.

little copper clammies, sweet...

I thought that folding the elements and opening them back up again might make them more interesting and detailed once they have been patinated. And in doing so they will follow on from the last necklace I made, and look like little clams!

copper/patina necklace?

I have never patinated copper before, and thought it might be interesting to incorporate it into a neckpiece. I have lots of these little forged copper 'coral' pieces that i can play around with...


I would like to patinate these elements and work them into a messy/busy chain with irregular links. Depending on what the patinated pieces look like, they could have the appearance of something rusted or crusty that could be found under the sea?