"Oyster Shells"

NEW! I make each artisan belt buckle one at a time using hand tools and traditional jeweler’s methods.  All buckles are made with oyster shells, jewelers resin, and recycled nickel and brass, hallmarked and signed by me. The process starts with hand picked oyster shells. After washing and drying, the shells are pulverized and tumbled. Then they are selected and sorted by size and color. After mixing with jeweler’s resin, the oyster shells are packed into a silicone mold. After curing for a week, the oyster shell casting is sawed into biscuits, filed, and wet sanded through a series of grits from 60 to 600. The oyster shell biscuit is permanently bonded to cartridge brass to which nickel attachments have previously been silver soldered. After final sanding, the assembled buckle is washed, dried, and coated with a warm mixture of turpentine and beeswax. Then it is hand buffed with a soft cloth. Each buckle is made with hand tools, signed and hallmarked by me, 2.25 inches diameter. This b