The Circle of Life

I think we can all agree that Mufasa pretty much covered the circle of life, for lions and hyenas everywhere.  If you happen to be a goldsmith, the circle of life is a little different.  Luckily, I am here to impart some wisdom.

Here is me imparting wisdom:

The circle of life, for the sterling silver in my toolbox, begins as trial and error in wax carving.  Here are some early attempts at carving balls:  

Once I have a satisfactory wax carving, I use sterling silver casting grain to cast the ball into metal.

Surprisingly enough, I am not perfect, and when trying something completely new it can take a few attempts before I am happy with the results.  Here is my ball graveyard, where bad balls go to die:

Thankfully, the trial and error period does not last forever.  Below, success!

All the old sterling silver gets recycled, because recycling is part of the process.  In this case, I raided the ol' ball graveyard.   The bad balls visited the chop shop (er, metal shears), and now have a brand new purpose in life as casting grain.

In fact I am casting tonight, and this casting grain will actually become two sets of weddings bands and a pair of earrings.  

And that, my friends, is the sterling silver circle of life, goldsmith edition.  Hakuna Matata!