Sapphire gingko leaf butterfly pendant, handmade eco friendly fine silver Victorian specimen jewelry-OOAK #8

This is #8 in my recycled fine silver gingko leaf butterfly series. This lovely butterfly is set with a lab created orange sapphire. She is resting on an Art Nouveau textured base or plaque. I gave her an antique patina with golden tones. On the back is a hidden bail, my makers mark and a quality stamping of .999.
She is hung on a sterling silver snake chain.
The leaves are made by painting silver to the back side of the gingko leaves. I added them to the body then the back plate before firing in a kiln. The lab created corundum (sapphire) was used because it can withstand the high kiln temps, and it is a gorgeous color. Lab created sapphires are chemically/structurally identical tp natural sapphires, they are just grown in a lab.
She is 32 mm or 1 1/4 inches long by 35 mm wide.

A note on precious metal clay:
ArtClay silver is a recycled product that consists of fine silver particles suspended in an organic binder. The clay can be worked like other forms of clay, sculpted to almost any shape you desire. The product is then fired at an extremely high temperature, either by kiln or torch. The binder burns away resulting in a pure silver (.999) piece. The silver is reclaimed from such sources as 35mm film and medical and industrial leftovers. No strip mining necessary.

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