About this Product
This is a gorgeous Botswana Agate that I have wrapped in bare copper wire. Agates, like Jaspers, are primarily made from Quartz and Chalcedony and get their names from either their appearance or where they are found. It has my own butterfly design on the bail!! After wrapping, I have applied a patina to give the copper wire an antique look. Afterwards it is polished, leaving the patina in the woven parts which helps bring out the details. An 18 inch black cotton cord will be included so the pendant can be worn immediately. It is advised to eventually get a sturdy chain to wear with this pendant.
Measurements:
Stone: 30mm x 19mm
Pendant length - From top of bail to bottom of pendant: 2 3/16 inches
Pendant width - Widest point: 13/16 inches
Care Instructions:
Because no sealer is permanent, I have not applied one, and the copper will continue to patina over time. If you would like to keep it the way it is, a polishing cloth will help you accomplish this. Do not use any metal cleaner on it as it will remove all the patina and could damage the stone. Do not wear while swimming or showering as the water will cause it to patina quicker and could also cause the copper to turn green in the tighter woven areas. When not being worn, you should keep it in the zip bag it comes in.
Processing time:
Since the item is already made, it takes very little time to package the order. Any order received before 11am ET, on Monday - Friday, will be shipped the same day. Any order placed after 11am will go out the next day unless I haven't gone to the post office yet. For same day shipping on Saturday, orders must be in by 10am because my post office closes at noon. There is no shipping on Sunday or holidays. Orders will take approximately 3 to 5 days to arrive. All packages are insured and tracking will be provided.
**Disclaimer**
Since stones are made by nature, they may have some "natural" imperfections. Some stones have naturally occurring pits, holes and pockets that may contain small crystals. Those pockets are called druzies. Some may also contain naturally occurring cracks and some have healed fractures. Healed fractures are when the stone broke at one point and new material filled in the crack. You can still see the crack, but it is no longer broken. Other stones like Labradorite and Moonstone have what are called cleavages. It's the crystal structure you see, but doesn't mean the stone is broken. These types of stones are more fragile and if dropped, could break where you see the cleavages. While most stones have a natural shine when polished, some of the softer stones do not. These stones are polished to a point and then a sealer is applied to make it shine. For this reason, pendants should never be cleaned with a chemical cleaner as this could dissolve the sealer and you would be left with a dull looking stone.
Judy's Wire Wrapped Gems
Meet the Maker
Greetings! I am Judy, the artist behind Judy's Wire Wrapped Gems!
A little bit about me so you know who you are supporting by buying from this shop! I am a life long resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Not bragging, I'm just the one who was crazy enough to stay. LOL I worked for the most part in manufacturing. My proudest job was working at ITT for 24 years making the communications radios for our armed services. This was a very detail oriented job that needed to be done perfect because our soldiers depended on our radios for their safety. I would like to think that the attention to detail has carried over into my jewelry making. In 2016, because of several medical conditions, I had to retire. This was not easy going from being a very active person to being told after neck and back surgery that I needed to be very careful about everything I did. Boredom soon kicked in and I needed to find something to keep me busy.
I had done some jewelry making previously, just for myself. I love necklaces and I like something that is different and unique. I don't want what everyone else has. I have always been fascinated with wire wrapped jewelry and after a few failed attempts, I finally got the hang of it. I like to make pieces that have more detail and a lot of weaving. I find the weaving both therapeutic and meditative. But, the weaving takes a lot of time and it takes 3 to 4 hours to make each one. I am always looking out for unique and unusual stones, so you may see things here you have never seen before. While I do know a lot of the different kinds of stones, occasionally I will buy stones that I can not verify when I look them up. If I'm not quite sure what the stone is, I will disclose that in my listings.
For me the artistic process starts with picking out a stone, to deciding how it should be wrapped. I really dislike covering up too much of the stone. A lot of my wraps are decided as I go, but I do have a few personal designs that I do more often because they sell well. Because this is my art, I do not accept requests or commissions. If someone tells me what they want and how they want it done, I no longer feel it's my art and it is stressful.
I opened my first online shop towards the end of 2018 and while it is still going well, I decided to expand when I heard about goimagine. I really like their vision and I'm hoping together we can make this place successful and in the near future move all my pieces here. If you have any questions about my work, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
How it’s Made
For me the artistic process starts with the selection of the stones. I have several sources I buy my cabochons from. I'm always looking for beautiful/unusual stones. Once I pick out a stone to wrap, I get a general idea how I want to wrap it, but sometimes during the course of wrapping it, I change directions.
First I decide what kind of frame I want around it. I have some designs I do often, but others are just wrapped as I go. Once I figure out what kind of frame I want, I measure the circumference of the stone, including what length I want the bail and cut my base wires. In order to get a nice even wrap, I have to make sure the wires are straight after I cut it off the reel. Once I have that done, I measure how much I need to weave to go around the stone so I can figure my starting point. Once I have that figured out, I weave the frame.
When the frame is completed, I bend it to fit snug around the stone. Once I get that done, I decide how I want the bail to look. Since there are so many wires that come up to make the bail, I often make a 2 or even a 3 layer bail. I finish each layer of the bail separately. Each layer is then formed and attached to the frame of the pendant. Sometimes the wires are brought to the front to add embellishments to the front of the pendant. Also, some of the wires are used to secure the cabochon on the back of the frame. The ends of all the wires are tucked in and secured and I make sure there is nothing sticking out that would poke you or get caught in anything.
I usually wrap 15 to 20 pendants before I do the patina process. A solution is mixed up and each pendant is dipped to allow the copper wire to turn black. Then they go into a baking soda bath that stops the patina process. Once all pendants have been dipped, they go into a tub of soapy water and are scrubbed with steel wool. This removes some of the patina, only leaving the patina in the woven parts to bring out all the details. They are rinsed off and set out to dry overnight. The next day I pick out any steel wool that has got caught in the pendant and then I use my Dremel with a metal polish and polish each pendant. From there they are sealed in a zipper bag.
As far as my wire, I use bare copper wire exclusively. For the base wires I usually use 20ga round or 20g square wire. The weaving is done with 28ga round. I also use a lot of 20ga half round. There are several other types and sizes of bare copper wire that I use for certain design elements.
Because I do a lot of weaving, my pendants are vary labor intensive. It usually takes 3 to 4 hours to wrap each one, plus the time it takes to do the patina process.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me!
Shop Policies
Cancellations:
Cancellations are only accepted within 1 hour after purchase. I try to get orders packaged quickly so they can get to you as soon as possible.
Returns:
I allow returns, but only for 14 days from the day your item arrives. Item must arrive in the same condition it was sent to qualify for a refund. Please send me a message if you are returning an order so I can expect it.
Problems with order:
All packages are insured. If your order arrives damaged, please contact me immediately. You will be required to send me photos of the damaged item so that I can open a claim with USPS. To date, I have never had an item arrive damaged. Tracking is provided with your order so you will know when your item is out for delivery. If your item is marked delivered, but you don't see it, contact your local post office. Sometimes an item is marked delivered a day or two before it is actually delivered. If the post office confirms that it did deliver the package at your address, then you will need to file a report with the local police. I am not responsible for loss from porch pirates. In the 5 years that I have been mailing out packages, I have never had one come up missing.
Processing times:
Since my items are already made, I only need time to package it up. On Monday - Friday, any orders I get before 11am will ship out that day. On Saturdays, orders have to be in by 10am to go out that day since my post office closes at noon. Any orders received after the cut off times will go out the next day. There is no shipping on Sundays or holidays. Unless it's a busy time of the year, most packages reach their destination in 3 to 5 days.
