Slate Blossom titanium & sterling silver earstuds
Titanium definitely has advantages and disadvantages. It's a tough metal to work with- hard to saw, difficult to form and impossible to solder. It's very strong and corrosion resistant- they make planes out of this stuff and no wonder it was named
for the mighty Titans of Greek mythology.
Spring Blossom titanium & sterling silver earrings
On the positive side you can achieve a wide range of vibrant colours after heating with the torch, resulting in a vivid block colour or a spectrum of shades. Colouring is unpredictable though and is trickier on unusual shapes so I couldn't be too planned. If you just miss the colour you want while heating, you end up with a dull grey and must sand it all off scrupulously to start again with a clean surface. It's hard work getting into all the little petals and had to be sanded much more vigorously than silver. I certainly learnt the importance of getting it right the first time.
Vibrant Blossom titanium & sterling silver earstuds
It's definitely love/hate with this material. Because it cannot be soldered I had to think up ingenious ways of connecting the titanium to the backing silver and ear post or hook. It was a relief going back to working with silver which felt easy to work in comparison but I did appreciate the different challenges of titanium and will be doing some more work with it after I've rested my hands a bit...