Francesca Watson Designs

Inspiration Gallery

Francesca — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:22:13 +0000

This is a small sampling of pieces I’ve made over the last year or so. Most of the items in this gallery are no longer in my possession – I loved making them, but they’ve gone on to other homes. The vast majority of my pieces are one-of-a-kind, but something here may give you some inspiration for a piece of your own. Use the contact page to request a free consultation if you see something that you like!

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Welcome to our newly launched site!

Francesca — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 04:48:24 +0000

Thanks to everyone who contributed to getting this site up and running – you know who you are! Very soon, I’ll be adding items for sale – if you’d like to be notified as items are added, click on the orange feed button in the upper right corner of the page. And keep checking back for additions to the gallery for ideas for custom pieces – or just to take a look at what I’ve been working on lately.

This particular piece was a Secret Santa gift for my on-line friend and fellow jeweler, Corinna. It was also my first ever attempt at Viking Knit, which is a pretty wonderful technique. I’m glad that – in spite of the many errors I can see when looking at this piece – Corinna just loves it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Agate Briolette

Francesca — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:12:54 +0000

This agate briolette was one of my first attempts at more creative wire wrapping and I just loved how it came out – and it’s reversible, with a spiral accent. I so enjoyed making this piece and was sorry to see it go.

Fossilized Coral

Francesca — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:00:34 +0000

I found this fossilized coral bead deep in a bowl at my favorite bead store – it was the only one of its kind and I grabbed it up immediately. It sat on my workbench for several weeks until I started experimenting with this spiral rope technique by adding pearls – and then this whole piece came together quickly in my head with very little tweaking in the translation. It was the first of my series of spiral rope pieces, a series I’m still obsessed with!

Turquoise in Matrix

Francesca — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:38:41 +0000

This netted bezel technique was perfect for this oversized cabochon of turquoise in matrix, and the multi-strand necklace was designed to complement its browns and earth tones so the blue would really pop. It went home with a new owner within days of being placed with the Wimberley gallery that snapped it up – and I really miss it!

Netted Abalone

Francesca — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:17:28 +0000

This fun technique captures stones, shells, or other objects in a netted silver wire bezel, and then surrounds them with anything from crystals to pearls to sparkly gemstones. This is the reverse side of an abalone shell that looks like ruffled fabric to me; I surrounded it with things that reminded me of the sea, and strung it on a spiral rope of translucent Japanese glass beads. Sadly, it is no longer in my collection, but has found a good home somewhere in the state of Texas!

Pearl Armature

Francesca — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:54:52 +0000

This pearl armature pendant features mother of pearl nuggets, freshwater pearls, coin pearls, and Swarovski crystals on a swirl of sterling silver. No two armature pieces are ever the same, which makes them great for special occasions. Prices for custom pieces will depend on the materials used, but a good rule of thumb is $50 to $100.