Black-Hearted Blaggard

It's been a bit since I posted last, but I thought I'd share a bit with you guys. I've always loved the claddagh rings. They're essentially a pairs of hands holding a crowned heart like this.

My sisters all have claddagh rings so when my youngest sister's cracked, she got a new one. I asked for the original and got to work on it. The ring was small, probably a size 6 or 7, so no way I could just repair it and wear it, but I thought, "Why not do something different?

I'd had the idea of making a claddagh necklace for some time. I'd see them and thought it'd be a nice gift for someone since you didn't have to worry about the size of the ring.

To start, I cut off the band and left the cuffs, hands, heart, and crown.

Next, I took it and put it in the forge to anneal the metal for flattening.

Then I hammered out the edges

Then on to some cleaning and filing

Then I formed, cut, and selected two loops for the sides.

I forgot to photograph the next few things, but I soldered those loops on the ends and then did something quite interesting. I filled the void that used to be filled with glass (it shattered in the forge) with a complex metallic compound called niello. Niello is a compound formed from copper, silver, lead, and sulfur. The substance is a metallic bluish grey-black. Here's what the final product looks like.

Hope you enjoyed.

Cheers!