The Surprise Necklace for Renata

Nearly two years ago, Rico's aunt Renata saw the sterling silver version of the Floral Chain Maille Necklace and fell in love. Only she wanted it in 18k yellow gold, a material that I didn't know how to work with at that point in my metalsmithing training. Renata said that she would wait as long as it took, but that she wanted the first necklace in this design in gold.

Good thing Rico's uncle took note. Last year, when I finally started some goldsmithing, we made a plan to give this necklace to Renata for her 50th birthday. I worked like crazy over winter break (but in secret, because Rico's aunt and uncle were staying at our house!) , and managed to get everything ready in time to be hand-carried down to Brazil. That was in December, and I've had to keep my mouth shut for nearly two months, not an easy task since I was so excited about how the necklace turned out.

Yesterday was the big day, and Renata finally got her birthday gold necklace. As you can see from the photos below, I think she was pretty surprised. :)

That grin just makes my day. Every time I get overwhelmed by school and question why I am doing any of this if it makes me so stressed sometimes, I just need to look at this photo. It perfectly expresses why I love to make jewelry.

Renata's the perfect model for the necklace, no? What a glamorous way to make my entry into the Brazilian market!