mokume gane & blackwood cufflinks

Here is a pair of Mokume Gane & African Blackwood cufflinks.
Mokume Gane is a Japanese technique involving the lamination of 2 or more contrasting metals,in this case 8 layers of copper & sterling silver,then cutting into those layers to reveal a pattern then flattening into a sheet to create a smooth,uniform material.
As far as I'm aware Mokume was first used to decorate the hilt & scabbard of Samurai swords but now is mainly used in the manufacture of jewellery,most notably by James Binnion & Steve Midgett.If you Google either of them you will be amazed by the work of 2 modern masters of an ancient craft.

pendant or brooch

When I started this piece over a year ago the intention was to make a pendant.I didn't complete it straight away because I'm atrociously unfocused & if I have a new idea then whatever I'm working on gets put to one side until I satisfy my creative urge.This is a common theme with my work,probably why I'm usually working on 20 plus things at once.
Much of my work has a modular nature,earrings can become cufflinks or bracelet components or 2 bracelets become a necklace,you get the idea.
Now,because I have been looking at this piece for over a year I'm not sure what to make it into,a brooch or a pendant.
Of course the most likely reason it hasn't been completed is because I really,really like it & if I complete it then I have to sell it!
Woe is me...
The main body is Bocote which is inlayed with 17 different materials including organic cow bone,turquoise,lapis & malachite resins,African Blackwood,Pink Ivory,African Padauk,Cocobolo,Black Walnut,Boxwood & Yew.
It is 76mm long,15mm wide & 5mm thick.

First Image

I had a funny feeling my blog entries would be few & far between but I didn't think the first image I uploaded would be 3 months after my first entry!

Anyhoo,here's a wee pendant I made for a long lost friend who I have tracked down on facebook.

The main bulk of the piece is African Blackwood,the blue is turquoise resin which is marketed toward pen makers,then we have Mother of Pearl,difficult to see from this photo but it has some lovely flashes of pink & green.The brown you see is American Black walnut & then there's the tiniest hint of bone just around the silver tubing which holds a 5mm Tigers Eye cabochon.The whole thing is finished to 400 grit then given a light buff with a fibral mop(more on fibral in a later post.)before being wiped with vaseline then buffed to a soft sheen.

More much sooner,promise...