synergy or assynergy? FSOJ week 3

Well, I made a bracelet, a variation on Rebecca Mojica's "Möbiused Rosettes Bracelet" in the Lark book Chain Mail Jewelry. The synergy, if present, comes from the use of alternating metals, copper and bronze, rather than all copper. Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? or less? I vacillate.

First I thought it would be neat to do the chain with the rosettes in silver. Then I decided that would have a spotty appearance, and that each section of chain would do well to be in a new color. I went for bronze because that would be too much silver used on an experiment for my currently very parsimonious soul. But using bronze also meant changing to 16 gauge, since that's what my bronze wire is, so I enlarged the rings from quarter-inch ID to 9/32 inch. That makes an AR of 5.86 rather than 6.25 as in the original. It also had the benefit that the larger rings meant I only needed seven groups rather than eight. Thus, with an odd number of groups, I could have a bronze group on either side of the copper clasp assembly, giving good symmetry. With the short length of 2-in-2 connecting the toggle, it fits me perfectly.


I think I like it. I think I'll probably be more sure that I like it after it is tumbled. I just finally finished this evening and took the photos immediately, quickie nighttime indoor shots with the on-camera flash, which means pretty poor quality. I'll post better later when the chain is all burnished up pretty. The trouble with using the bronze is that the beautiful shine it gets in tumbling is very short-lived.

This one is for me, both because of the bronze, and because my first attempt at fabricating a toggle fastening (out of 12 gauge copper) is not exactly ready for prime time. It works, but it sure isn't a thing of beauty.