Moustache Pendant Silversmith and Setting a Stone

Just like any project, it is always a great idea to layout all of your parts. This lets you know what will work and what won't work. Take lots of pictures. You might change your mind and want to go with a previous arrangement. I choose a moustache and onyx stones. Pick whatever strikes your fancy.

If you don't know how to solder silver or set a cabochon, I suggest checking out all of the great instructables that all the great people on this site have made. They can explain it much better than I can. I soldered all of my parts in place after I textured up the metal with a texture hammer. I also put loops on the backside if I ever decide I want to wear this as a necklace. I also soldered a stamp with my initials and .925 because this is sterling silver. After I soldered and quenched, I tossed the piece in the pickle bath before polishing

I used these nifty 3m discs to progressively smooth out the metal. They are great to get into tight spots. This is a tedious process but it pays off in the end.

I set my cabs and burnished the edges of the metal around them to keep them in place. You must make sure you have soldered everything prior to this step. You risk cracking the stone and potentially hurting yourself from explosion.

This step is solely up to your personal tastes. I felt a black patina would go nicely with the onyx. Watch the video in this step. It's a very cool change in color and it happens almost immediately.

A patina is nice, but if you want to add more character then rough it up. This step us fun because if you take too much patina off, you can always repeat the previous step and start over.