In early 2017 I was commissioned to make a brooch and bangle inspired by and celebrating the opening of the Queensferry Crossing making three bridges over the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh.

I was absolutely delighted to be asked to make these amazing pieces. I had some ideas about how to make the brooch extra special, with lots of intricate layering and saw-piercing. For the bangle I decided on a simpler look, but not a simpler process. I had to cut out the bridges and add in all the detail with some engraving tools.

The brooch making process

I designed the brooch so that it was made from four layers of sterling silver. The first layer I cut was the highest section, the Forth Rail Bridge. Not the easiest of shapes to draw, let alone cut out of sheet metal! For the second layer I had to cut both the rail bridge and the current road bridge at the same time, making sure not to cut away any sections I might need. These two layers would be soldered together and give the depth needed to make each bridge look separate of each other. The third section had the new Queensferry Crossing design on it, for this I engraved the supporting wires and pierced out the middle support strut. Lastly the largest piece of metal, an oval, which has all of the above layers soldered onto it and is textured up to the horizon to represent the Forth estuary water.

This brooch took me 5 WHOLE days in the workshop to make, it was a real challenge to my saw piercing, soldering and finishing skills to make sure each layer was as accurate and as beautifully finished as I could possibly make it.

The bangle

The bangle as I said above was a simpler design, with each bridge leading on to the next one. Once I cut out each bridge like this, I then had to add the features that would make them recognisable by engraving into the metal. This meant each bridge was instantly recognisable!

The finished brooch and bangle

I'm delighted with both of these pieces, they were a joy to make. I have been informed by their owner that they're quite the conversation starter as well as garnering a lot of compliments!