I went with the same basic design as the first pair, but used faceted amethyst beads around the edges, and spaced them closer to add more color to the hoops. I hand forged the 1 inch hoops out of heavy gauge, 14K gold-filled wire, then coiled them with several feet of finer wire, rolo chain, round gold beads and deep purple amethyst beads to give the hoops an intricate and ornate finish. The outer diameter of the hoops is 1-1/4 inches.
14 kt gold-filled wire is made by forming a tube of solid 14kt gold that is "filled" with a base metal. The gold is bonded to the base metal with heat and pressure. The base metal is also gold in color and is made up of almost the same mixture of metals (usually a brass alloy) used to bring 24kt gold down to 14kt, 10kt, etc. The exterior of the product is solid 14 kt gold and everything you can see or touch is a solid layer of 14 kt gold. This is why it will never tarnish, chip or wear off. The gold layer on gold-filled wire is approximately 100 times thicker than gold-plate as and is bonded with heat and pressure. Any Gold-Filled item is regulated by the government (as is solid gold) and must be at least 5% gold by weight. I use 14/20 gold-filled wire, chain and beads, which means that the piece is 1/20th 14 karat gold.
These beautiful earrings will arrive in a floral gift box, with the artist's card.
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