Heart Rate Ring and the Saturn Series

Black Heart Rate Ring, after anodising, dying and engraving

After much procrastination, I finally got round to anodising and engraving the men's version of the Heart Rate Ring. I'd been holding off because I had to figure out how to jig it adequately. Since this piece doesn't have any holes in its design, I made a couple of small indents on the inside surface, and made a kind of sprung pincer from thick-gauge aluminium wire. The engraving was added after anodising, in order to give the line a contrasting colour.
 

Saturn pendant

These pieces are the start of a new planet-based line of work. The idea was to create something modular, which could be used to make sets of pendants, earrings and bracelets. For now, I'm sticking with the blue/black/silver colour scheme, but will expand this once I've completed a full set of work. All pieces are anodised aluminium, with nylon-coated stainless steel cable and sterling silver fastenings.

 

Saturn Earrings

The modules for the Saturn series are reasonably easy to anodise, since they all have holes integrated into their design. This makes it much easier to create a good contact between the pieces and the tank bar, and seems to have a reasonably high success rate. 

Saturn Earrings, as a pair

 Modules can be mixed and matched for any combination of colours, so can be fully customised. For now, I've just mixed the elements of the earrings to make them as different as possible within a pair.

Anodising in Progress

Heart Rate Rings, in progress

 These rings are ready for anodising, and are just waiting for me to figure out how to build the jig which will attach them to the tank bar. The engraving is based on readouts from ECG heart-rate monitors, and the idea is to make the line a different colour to the body of the ring post-anodising. Each pulse of the heart-rate is intended to remind the wearer that he or she is alive - there is still hope!

Square Rings, in progress

 I wanted to try something new with these, decided to change the shape. Don't be deceived by their appearance; they're actually surprisingly comfortable! Again, the engraved line will be a different colour to the body of the ring. The corners should make them slightly easier to jig for anodising, too.

Modules for earrings, pendants and bracelets, ready for anodising

When finished, these parts will be assembled to make planet-like jewellery, pictures of which will follow. In the meantime, I wanted to show you how they look when they're about to be anodised. The thin wires connect the modules to the tank bar, with a tight connection. If there's any movement at all between the part and the wire or the wire and the tank bar, the anodising process will fail. Sometimes you can't tell until you come to dye the piece whether or not it has been properly attached. 

Bottle Opener Pendants

 Bottle Opener Pendants, top view

 These were the first pieces to be anodised, and as they were easy to jig, were supposed to be test pieces. The idea was to see how the process worked and iron out any obvious problems. Since I like the way they turned out, I'm now making a cutting model in order to try to get a batch of them laser-cut. That way, they'll be faster to produce, and cheaper to buy!

Anodising

It's a bit chaotic, but this is how the workshop looks when anodising is in progress...

 The focus of most of my current work is contemporary jewellery, made from aluminium and anodised in my workshop. The anodising process adds a hard, oxide-resistant layer to the aluminium, and also allows you to colour it afterwards, with special dyes. The process itself is relatively simple, but there is a lot that can go wrong, and there are a few key things to keep in mind. 

The anodising tank, with the red wire attached to the tank bar and the black wire attached to the lead sheet

Anodising takes place in a bath of Sulphuric acid, which acts as an electrolyte. An electrical current is run through the pieces, which are jigged and suspended in the bath on a tank bar. The tank bar, jig and pieces all need to be made from aluminium, and they are attached to the positive lead on the power supply. They are now the anode. Some lead sheet is supsended in the bath, and is attached to the negative side of the power supply. This is the cathode.

Anodising bench, with power supply

 After anodising comes dying, which is the fun part, and sealing. The dye needs to be heated in order to take properly, and then the piece is sealed in a scary green chemical, at boiling point. Even if you don't dye the piece, you still need to seal it. This closes the pores on the surface of the aluminium, and completes the anodising process.

Introduction

Hi Folks, this is Turkish (Bosnian) coffee. I decorate those little shiny things that people use to serve the coffee, and hope to be making them soon too. I'm also making a line of multifunctional contemporary jewellery which is currently in progress. I will upload photos very soon of my work, the studio and more, so you know where to find me. Then all you have to do is to come, pay me a visit and maybe buy something. All designs will soon be available to order over the internet and be sure, each product will be handmade and unique.
C U soon guys

Juliet