Gold and Ruby Proto-type Earrings

I've had a project I've been sitting on for about... forever. Ok, maybe not that long, but several weeks anyway. It's for a pair of 14k gold and faceted Ruby earrings, similar to a pair of sterling Tanzinite earrings I made a while back. Unsure of exactly how to make pair similar yet different enough, without costing $1000.00, I've tried a couple things, but couldn't get it just right. No matter what I tried to do, the top wrap kept bothering me, but I wasn't sure how to eliminate it. It's wire. It needs some kind of join. And I don't solder very well, soooo... *sigh* nada.

Last night I thought I'd try a whole new way. I'm rather pleased with it. No big bulky wrap. Yay :D

Since I'm so nervous about working with a material as spendy as 14k gold, I wanted to make sure everything would work just right, so I made up a finished pair in copper, wrapped in some faceted garnet, and volia!

front

 They are a good size hoop. The front looks nice, but to be quite honest, I kinda like the back too. The wire seems to frame each stone. In gold, that would look nice.

back

 They hang nicely...

And the wire is a thick guage that I've hand hammered to give it a thicker front profile, but they aren't thick or bulky looking...

I'm rather pleased. The gold pair would have different ear wires, I'm thinking a gold lever back, so they would be extra secure. A little extra security strikes me as a good thing with where the project may go.

If all goes well, I may have my first pair of solid gold shiny. I'm rather excited. It's a material I just didn't think I'd work with anytime soon. It's a bit scary. And totally exciting. :D

Adventures in shinies. Woot!!