Anne V Massey
Wings silver necklace
Wings silver necklace
Couldn't load pickup availability
This is a delicate handmade silver bird necklace on a silver rope chain. It is available with the elegantly twisted feature alone or set with a 3.5mm yellow citrine or sky blue topaz (both are birthstones for November). The neckace has a hammered texture, burnished edges and an attractive satiny finish. A simple silver necklace to give delight.
- Made from recycled sterling silver at my Hove studio.
- Available in three lengths, 17"/42.5cm, 19"/47.5cm or 21"/52.5cm.
- Choose from plain silver, or set with a sparkling 3.5mm faceted citrine or pale blue topaz, the birthstones for November. This is made to order.
- Also available with a red garnet, the birthstone for January, in an 18ct gold tube mount. This is made to order.
- An ideal gift for Christmas, a birthday, Valentine's Day or Mother's Day.
- It can be kept looking fresh and clean by this simple method which avoids harsh chemicals. Please note - only hand-hot water should be used with stone-set jewellery as very hot water may cause stones to crack.
This exquisite little silver bird necklace is lightweight and easy to wear. It is made by the ancient and labour-intensive hammer process of anticlastic raising, which produces strong forms from thin metal sheet. You can put it on and forget that you're wearing it. Its charming simplicity and organic form make it suitable for wear by all ages.
Postage and packing free
You can select free gift wrapping if you click on View my Cart before going to the checkout. Your order will be despatched to you by Special Delivery (UK only). Items in stock will usually be posted within 5 working days; items made to order in 2-4 weeks. Postage is free. I will email you with the tracking number once the order is posted. For customers outside the UK, posting will be by Royal Mail International Tracked and Signed. I will pay the postage but the buyer will be responsible for any fees, duties or taxes which may be levied for delivery. I am currently not posting to countries in the EU due to the complexity of the new rules.
If you have questions or concerns you can contact me at info@annevmassey.com.
Care information
Care information
Silver tarnishes over time. Pieces which are gold plated all over (gold vermeil) may need cleaning every now and again; although gold does not tarnish, the silver underneath may. All my work is best cleaned by methods which do not involve rubbing, which causes the jewellery to lose its semi-matte finish and gradually makes it become shiny. My favourite involves using readily available household items - hot water and bicarbonate of soda with aluminium foil in a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl or a stainless steel vessel. Even better, it's sustainable! You can re-use old foil - repeatedly! - but it needs to be clean. You can clean more than one piece of jewellery at a time, but as this is an electrochemical process each piece needs to be in contact with the foil. It doesn't matter which way up the foil is. The hotter the water, the faster the reaction goes. Enough bicarb should be used to cover each piece. This won’t damage the gold plating on wholly- or part-plated pieces, but boiling water should never be poured directly onto pieces which incorporate stones; some stones can be damaged or even destroyed by thermal shock. You can use hand-hot water in this case, or - more effectively - bring the piece(s) up to boil from cold in a stainless steel saucepan. There are many versions of this technique available on the internet, and also many sites which have information about stones and their vulnerability/resistance to thermal shock.
The first two images show a pendant before and after cleaning by this method. 
The next series of images shows a more heavily tarnished brooch. The images are taken at 20 minute intervals. As you can see, the brooch never becomes as clean and bright as the example above.
This technique works best if the piece is not too heavily tarnished.
Storing your jewellery properly can help retard or prevent tarnishing. Direct sunlight, humidity, chlorine and hairspray all accelerate tarnishing. Storing the jewellery in a box in a dry room (not the bathroom, for example) will help keep it looking bright and fresh. The jewellery should not be worn to a swimming pool, and hairspray should be applied before putting jewellery on. Salt (including from perspiration) can also react with silver, so it should not be worn for swimming in the sea.
If you don’t mind losing the surface “bloom”, you can use a commercially available cleaner such as Goddard’s foaming paste, or even toothpaste, with a soft toothbrush.
Much of this information is taken from Masamitsu Inaba's article Tarnishing of Silver: A Short Review in the Victoria and Albert Museum's Conservation Journal, January 1996 Issue 18. Many thanks.
