Jewelry Crafted By Hand

Progress I've made so Far When given the opportunity to decide on a project, I already had something in mind. Back in September, I met a girl I liked. I mean, I really  liked her. the week of our first date, I began working on a project. I wanted to make her a ring out of a cool rock I found in my backyard. Why I thought this would be a good idea, I don't know. I did, however, like the idea of starting a project in the beginning of our relationship, and months later finishing it, and giving her the result as a gift as a way of saying "I knew we'd make it this far." I started out by grabbing some files and a hacksaw from my garage. after a few hours of filing and sawing, I realized it wasn't going to work. It wasn't a matter of "this is going to take forever," but rather "I'm breaking tools faster than this rock." I tried some power tools I found in my basement. Same result. I was wearing down drill bits at a shocking rate. A f...

Making Jewelry Problem Jewelry has been ubiquitous in world culture since the earliest days of metalworking. Gold necklaces adorned the necks of the Pharos in Egypt, and the upper crust of Roman society exchanged iron rings as a nuptial tradition, but there's one common thread throughout the history of jewelry: status. In the modern first world, wealth, education, and even political power have largely been democratized. Even in this environment, however, status symbols still exist. The idea of jewelry has remained one of wealth, fashion, and kabal. It is hard to imagine that something surrounded with an aura of mystery such as the one that envelops jewelry can be made by anyone with a couple of power tools, and a little pocket change to buy materials. As inaccessible as metalworking and stone carving might seem, they are still things that people have had the capability to do for thousands of years, and it's only getting easier. Anyone can make jewelry, so I intend to. ...