I wish I could say that this design was 100% original, but I was inspired by a circular celtic-looking pendant I saw elsewhere online. I liked the design, but had ideas of my own based on it. More specifically, I really wanted to put a stone in the middle of a similar design, and possibly change the shape of the Celtic part in the middle.
The first version was just working the bugs out -- testing ring sizes, arrangements, etc.
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| Celtic pendant - 1st version |
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I liked this one, but it did not have a large enough hole in the center to really put a stone. So, I kept playing with ring sizes and the alignment of the center components. The next version was similar to this one, but also included a new part of the experiment: a wire-wrapped gemstone.
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| Celtic pendant - 2nd version w/wire-wrapped stone |
Still not 100% pleased, I kept working. The next one I made again with no stone, but this time out of sterling silver, thinking I had nailed the base design. Not so ...
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| Celtic pendant - version 3 (sterling) |
This time, I did get ONE thing right -- the center hole is larger & potentially big enough to fit a more traditionally set gemstone. But the celtic knot parts are still too twisted looking for my liking. I wanted something that looks definitively celtic, retains its shape, and has enough space in the middle for a stone.
The next version is where I really thought I was there, and really... it was close. Very close. I made this one in solid brass with a bronze outer ring and a center gemstone (6mm white topaz set in sterling silver).
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| Celtic pendant - version 4 w/6mm bezel set white topaz |
The knot parts are cleaner (but not clean enough), and the space and tension are right to hold the stone in the middle without it twisting or wobbling. At first, I thought this one was it. But no ... my experiments had one more golden egg to lay ...
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| Celtic pendant - version 5 - THE WINNER! |
Version 5 is exactly what I originally set out to create. In the end, the center stone is an 8mm round stone (in the photo, it's a mystic topaz) in a sterling silver bezel setting, and I finally figured out how to stabilize the celtic components in the center in just the right way to get the look I was after. It's made out of mostly jeweler's brass with some bronze.
Now that I know exactly what size rings are needed for each part of the piece, I can re-create it in any metal I want! The first 4 versions of this pendant are in my Etsy shop for sale. They're still beautiful, and version 4 will probably be reproduced in other metals, too, as well as be available for custom orders with different metals (mixed, too) and different stones. It's still beautifully Celtic-looking, too.
Look for version 5 to appear in my Etsy shop very, very soon! ^_^ In the meantime, here's version 4 and 5 side by side (please forgive the last 2 photos in this post -- they were NOT taken with my usual higher-quality DSLR camera).
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| Versions 4 and 5, side by side |
