Made In Connemara

We were in Clifden today to pick up a bicycle that was in Mannion's Bike Hire for some adjustments. They really know their stuff there and performed some major surgery on my 25 year old mountain bike, it will go for another 25 years now! Great service and a great price!

At the request of my daughter I took a break from creating jewellery and made a house for our now near permanent guest, Mr. Dubhabán the Cat. It's made from scraps of wood that I'd kept for ages in the back, knowing that one day they'd have a use! It comes with an insulated roof and floor, hey we always do our best here at the Studio in Connemara!

Finishing is one of the longer aspects of creating a new piece of Silver Jewellery but it is also relaxing.

Rolling Silver is the process of making it thinner by passing it through Steel Rollers. When it hardens after a few passes we need to anneal it to make it soft again and then continue.

Soldering is a tricky practice but it's very hard to make a piece of jewellery without having to solder some part. This video shows a recent ring going through the process.

I used to buy the posts for my Silver Cufflinks until I discovered I could cast my own. It gives the Cufflinks that real individual unique touch. This is a selection of photographs I took of the process during the week at the studio.

At the Studio in Connemara this week we are working on casting Silver ingots. We do this by making a mould in a special sand and pouring the molten Silver into the mould. It doesnt always turn out perfect so patience is required but most times we love the results. After cleaning the Sterling Silver Ingot we anneal it and then put it through our Rolling Mill to take it down to the dimensions we need or we may work on it directly from the mould. See www.ruairioneill.com for more of Ruairí O'Neill's Silver Jewellery and Paintings 

After a day in the Studio there is nothing better than taking a walk to the nearby beach for relaxation and inspiration for the next day. See www.ruairioneill.com for more of Ruairí O'Neill's Silver Jewellery and Paintings