Larkin has been wanting to offer some more petite charms on silver chain, and this offering took some serious research and time! Last time Larkin placed a silver order, they ordered several lengths of chain in various gauges. They wanted something dainty enough not to overwhelm a small charm, but sturdy enough they would be confident it wouldn't break easily with regular wear.
Then Larkin needed to design a clasp that was not onerously difficult to make, and equally easy to fasten and unfasten without coming undone during wear. Then came the wear testing, for which Larkin recruited family and friends-- any necklace that withstands several days of construction work and overnights on a restless sleeper has been pretty thoroughly vetted!
Sounds good, right? Almost! Larkin wanted these pieces hung on the chain *before* adding the clasps so the charm can't slide off the end of the necklace. So the finished piece needs to be polished chain and all, a recipe for tangled disaster in the tumbling jewelry polisher... especially if you're wanting to polish a batch of 5-10 at a time! Using a spool that had come with wire on it, Larkin rigged up a set-up for loosely spooling finished necklaces that would fit in the tumbling polisher and keep the chain from tangling hopelessly.
Which leads us (finally!) here! The base of these petite gleaming pendants is a rectangle Larkin cut from sheet metal, hammered to appear like a brick or stone base for the vining ivy. Larkin hand cut, veined and shaped each ivy leaf from silver and affixed the vine and leaves to the base. They add the chain and clasp, give the whole thing a final polish, and ta-dah!
