Silver Plated Steampunk Earrings

These earrings are available on ebay


Just a few terms that might make this pair of earings a little more interesting:

Silver plating is the process of electronically putting a thin coat of silver over another metal. Before you sum this up as a cheap attempt at jewelry, think of the process involved. In order to transfer the silver molecules to a piece of copper, electricity and cyanide are used in a tank with a sheet of pure silver for the transference. If the metal is not completely clean, the person doing the plating could DIE from toxic fumes produced by mixing these chemicals.

The process of veneer goes way back to antiquity. Precious resources such as silver and gold were hard to mine. We still have deadly mining accidents today. Imagine how treacherous those mines were in ancient times. The ancient Egyptians were constantly applying thin sheets of silver and gold to materials that weren't as precious. Even the pyramids are veneer! (Polished, white limestone over cut stone and bricks)

Our next term is called forging. (No, this isn't like writing a phony check or signing someone's name.)  Forging is done with a hammer on a hard surface - usually an anvil) When a metalsmith gets skillful enough, they can create beautiful, calligraphic lines with thick regions and thin areas that look a lot like written brushwork. Hammering one way can create a thin line out of wire and then  hammering the other way creates a bold, fat line.

Our next term is called Steampunk. This was a term created over ten years ago and the art movement is still popular which is impressive for a 21st century trend since our society goes through trends and fads faster than the earth changes seasons. You can find a lot about the concepts behind Steampunk here. (or simply do your own search) I love this retro movement because it brings back some great Victorian authors such as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and Edgar Allen Poe. There is an emphasis on machinery parts and equipment that reflects the late industrial age and the mastery of the steam engine. We now have a new appreciation for steamboats, trains and large clocks that we might not have had before this movement. Steampunk looks at the artistic quality of these inventions and how solidly they were built.