Fine Jewellery Techniques (JEW4035)
14/03/2018 - Orrery Design
I suppose, in keeping with the assessment criteria of a technical journal but no design development, the design of my orrery is mostly mechanical, and any aesthetic beauty will come from the materials used and the quality of manufacture. The only purely decorative design element will be any piercing I do on the large centre gear.
In its simplest form, the gearing mechanism could just be placed on a central tube soldered to the top of a ring or brooch. However for extra security, I wanted to enclose the whole thing in a large “cup”. This decision is what led me to the idea of putting in a shell “background”. I bought some laminated abalone during the last module when I had ideas of inlaying it into my cruet set plinth. I didn't end up doing this, so had it left over.
My choice of stones to represent the celestial bodies, was easy. I already had a carnelian which was a suitable size for the sun. A tiny moonstone was mostly obviously needed for the moon. And I thought I'd use a labradorite for the earth (but this eventually change to an opal triplet).
In its simplest form, the gearing mechanism could just be placed on a central tube soldered to the top of a ring or brooch. However for extra security, I wanted to enclose the whole thing in a large “cup”. This decision is what led me to the idea of putting in a shell “background”. I bought some laminated abalone during the last module when I had ideas of inlaying it into my cruet set plinth. I didn't end up doing this, so had it left over.
My choice of stones to represent the celestial bodies, was easy. I already had a carnelian which was a suitable size for the sun. A tiny moonstone was mostly obviously needed for the moon. And I thought I'd use a labradorite for the earth (but this eventually change to an opal triplet).
|
I mocked these up in Photoshop to explore a couple of options.
|
Not knowing the ins & outs of gearing mechanisms, I cheated, and turned to technical Lego for help.
|
|
After some googling, I found some downloadable CAD models of technical Lego gears.
After some virtual filling & chopping, I had converted them into shapes that could be cut from sheet metal.
|
|
So this is my CAD model for an orrery brooch. The final design ended up changing slightly (from a brooch to a ring, and replacing the bullet shaped stone handle with a simple piece of silver wire) however it really helped give me the confidence that I could pull this off.
|
My heart sunk a little during my astrolabe research, to find these lovely pendants by Jean Burgers from New Zealand. The round silver designs over abalone, are very similar to my idea.
|
|
