Easter Breakfast: Gumballs With Cheerios?

April Fools!  What you're seeing is  actually a bowl of  pearls on a hand forged chain. If you're curious to know how this breakfast of champions was created, read on.

To make 'Cheerios' I used 10, 12, and 16 gage gold fill wire. I wrapped the wire on a mandril to form a coil and placed the coil in a vice. Then I used my foredom (think dremel tool on steroids) equipped with a wafer thin aluminum oxide cut off-disc to slice the coil into rings. One can also use a jewelers saw to do this––which is what patient and precise artisans  would use––but I'm not patient. Or precise. I like power tools!

You'll note, in this photo,  broken bits of cut-off disc strewn about my work bench. One of the drawbacks of  being neither patient nor precise. 

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Here are 'Cheerios" (a.k.a. jump rings) cut and  ready for soldering––but first they need to be filed and fitted together so that all joints are straight and clean.Time spent  cutting, shaping, and prepping: 5  hrs.

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These are 'Cheerios' after soldering––not so pretty and, I'll admit, my soldering skills don't look all that pretty either, but don't judge  until you see the finished product. Time spent soldering : 2  hours.

Next, I hammer each ring  on a tiny vice to give it texture. This is where I learn if my solder joint is any good. Hand eye coordination is a plus;  smashed thumbs happen.Time spent hammering : 4 hours.

​Here are the 'Cheerios' fresh out of the tumbler, clean, textured and shiny again! No ugly solder joints here!

Time spent in tumbler:8 hours

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Now it's time to add  'gumballs'. Elements are laid out on a design board. I used 24 gage gold fill wire to join everything together. Time spent in designing and assembling:
​1 to 2 hours per strand.

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25  hours later, the finished products... 

Three completed strands: 20 mm white semi baroque pearls, 26" length, 20 mm cream, bronze, and pink 20 mm baroque pearls, 42" length and 46" length.

I hope you enjoy  a pleasant Sunday. No fooling.