It's Wings's newest, and in one respect, a first.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

I've been promising this for two days, but pain and fatigue and far too many other tasks have kept getting in the way. It's Wings's newest, and in one respect, a first.

It's a cuff whose focal feature is a row of five evenly-spaced repoussé conchas, each a fluted floral shape. It's called The Dawn of Creation, and you can read its full description here. The "first" aspect of it? That row of fluted repoussé conchas. It's a lot (a lot) harder to do than it looks, and he says this is the first time, as far as he can remember, that he's ever done it (repeated them in a a high, deep, even row like this). 

Repoussé is just a fancy French term for "from the reverse," and in silversmithing terms, it's used to describe what happens when you create a stamped shape by hammering on the reverse side of the silver rather than the top, so that it rises above the rest of the silver in 3D form. It's done with a a stamp that is in fact its own specialized tiny anvil. That, in of itself, isn't such a big deal. Trying to make the pattern rise equally and evenly, in this instance, to keep the fluted "petals" of uniform size, shape, height, depth, etc. . . . and all without fudging or blurring the edges by inconsistent strikes of the hammer?  That's hard enough. Now repeat it four more times, each time an equal distance from the last, each one centered in its section of the band. That takes skill. And not having done it before? That's an indicator or overall talent and experience.

There are several other views of the cuff at the link. It's gorgeous. You can order it via the site's Contact form. Wings's main page is here, which links out to the rest of our inventory. And we still need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this terrible second pandemic-ridden spring (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.