THE NUMERAL BANGLE

My first attempt at cutting and "X" shape; this idea was scrapped for the one below.

Cut strips of sheet metal which would become the roman numerals

CONCEPT

My idea for a bracelet is a bangle with the roman numerals 1 through 12 running along it, capped by two bangles. This design is comparable to the Atlas Bracelet from Tiffany's, which is where I found my inspiration. I wanted to represent the continuity of time, and I like the fluid nature of the seemingly neverending numbers.

One element of my design which I am particularly proud of is that for the X's and V's, instead of simply cutting out the shape (like I attempted to in the first picture to the left), I decided to use two different, slanted pieces of nickel silver. The first one would line up with the I's and be capped by the bangles the same way the I's would be; and the second one would be a larger piece that is soldered onto the inside of the bangles. This technique gave my bracelet an appearance of deph, which definitely made it more interesting and artistic.

The numerals are soldered onto the bottom bangle

Close-up post-soldering

Post-soldering

PROCESS

To create my bracelet, first I measured out the size of my wrist and cut a strip of sheet metal to size for the bangles. Then, I took a couple very skinny strips of sheet metal, and cut out the roman numerals (1cm for a I). Afterwards, I filed all the numerals, and prepared to solder them onto the bottom bangle. This part was extremely tricky because I had so many little pieces, and they all had to be set up evenly spaced and perfectly straight on a strip of metal which was slightly twisted (which naturally occurs with a piece that skinny). After much experimentation, the strategy which I found that worked for me was this: I marked up the points on the sheet metal where the numerals had to go (with pencil) to assure even spacing, and I found that I was able to attach the numerals one by one, by pointing the flame directly to the solder joint. Because the surrounding metal was so fine, I was able to melt down extra-hard solder without melting the solder of the neighboring numeral. Nevertheless, soldering the numerals on was definitely one of the trickiest parts of this project. Even when all the pieces were attached to the bangles, I still had to go back and fix them multiple times, due to the piece not being flush with the bangle, the angle being off for the slanted pieces, etc.

Using a diamond tip on the Dremmil drill

Once I soldered the numerals to the bottom bangle, I had to file them all until they were perfectly straight with each other. Then, I soldered on the top bangle with hard solder. I encountered a problem here where the top and bottom bangle pieces on side with the I were curving inwards, because the I was too small. To fix it, I simply cut a new I and replaced it with the old one, and curved the sheet metal back into shape. The last part I had to solder on was the long diagonal backs of the V's and X's to the inside of the bracelet. After that, I used diamond tips of the Dremmil drill to remove the excess solder and even out the surface, as well as to smoothen out the ends of the "backing" pieces, so as not to irritate the wearer of the final product.

Back of the bracelet

Close up of the soldering work on the back of the bracelet

Closeup on the soldering work on the front

REFLECTION

Unofrtunately, I didn't have enough time to complete my bracelet. Though I came in to work on this project during my free periods after I was no longer enrolled in the Jewelry Design class, that work was terminated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity to stay home.

So far, the bracelet is turning out very close to my original design, thanks to the amount of effort I am putting in to ensure the absolute precision of this project. Even though it is taking a long time, I enjoy knowing that the finished product will be some of my best work, with as professional a quality as I could create.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse