Here’s a chunky braided copper cuff which I crafted last summer. It is naturally oxidized in warm chocolate-y copper tones. I crafted this bracelet using recycled copper wire.
How it started
My father-in-law works with electricity and he gave me a supply treasury of old cables. Here is the particular one which I used for crafting this cuff:
I stripped it of the coating and started playing with the 2.5 cm wire. Coiled 0.6 mm wire around one of the wires and then braided together all of them. I had wanted to try this type of braiding for some time. I got this:
The finishing was hard. I put it the wire structure around a small cylindrical glass to shape it. Then I made a clasp. Day after day I looked at the bracelet and the clasp was just nagging me. I didn’t like it at all. So I got my jeweler’s saw and just cut the end to which the clasp was connected. It was a relief – now I was okay with this tortured piece of jewelry. Filed a lot, polished a lot. Then left for many many days until natural patina appeared. (Franky, I actually forgot about the cuff for some time, but the former sentence sounds more professional.) Lastly I put some layers of Renaissance wax to simultaneously protect and allow the warm brown color to further develop with the aging of copper. Here is the result:
Buy this bracelet at my Etsy store here
If you’re interested in buying my handmade pieces of jewelry, check out the available ones at my Etsy store. If you are in Bulgaria or want to ask me something, you can also write to me here:
Cute Strange Creatures 