New Jewellery Collection in the Making

This is the beginning of a new collection I am thinking of bringing into the Hanfords range. It is made primarily from a material called Argentium Silver, which differs from Sterling Silver in that it does not tarnish over time and will not need polishing nearly as often. The other great benefit to using Argentium is that it will fuse to itself and create a very strong join, whereas with Sterling you have to use solder which creates a lot more work when finishing the piece. There will soon be a Free Jewellery Tutorial on the Hanfords website covering fusing argentium so keep checking it for details.
Although Argentiurm was invented in the UK about 10 years ago it is only recently that British Designers have begun to use it in their pieces, whereas designers in the US where much quicker to pick up on its benefits.
The double layered heart shapes are a good example of the benefits of fusing. They are simply fused together using a small blow torch and leave a clean line between the two hearts without the need for any filing at all.

The toggle clasp in the necklace has been made simply by cutting the circle shape from a piece of silver sheet and textured using a round-headed hammer. The toggle itself is a thick piece of round silver wire, hammered in the same way, and rounded at the ends.
Like I said, I am thinking of incorporating this collection into the Hanfords range once a couple more pieces have been added to it and they have been properly finished to produce a mirror shine (the ones above unfortunately hadn't been finished in time for this blog but the picture gives you an idea). Any feedback or ideas you have would be much appreciated so feel free to contact me at michael@hanfordsoflondon.com