I am thinking of getting a sterling silver turtle pendant handcrafted for Roland this Christmas.

I have already bought a sterling silver dolphin pendant for Jill and Roland is a friend I know through the scuba diving course too.

Roland is very fond of aquatic animals too but I think dolphins are not the right animal for him.

There was a diving trip where we spotted a giant sea turtle and boy, was Roland thrilled. He was hunting around for sea turtle souvenirs the rest of the trip.

I think silver turtle pendants like the ones on this page is suitable. Sea turtle or simply sea animal lovers will wear one of these proudly.

This is one of the workable choices. Of course there are many other sea creatures jewelry that will thrill Roland other than a handcrafted sterling silver turtle pendant.

I supposed now that I am keenly involved with silver smithing and handcrafting silver jewelry, people may direct questions in this area at me. And I do get my fair share.

But sometimes these question are rather odd and really stumped me. I mean seriously, I am only a beginner and don't get involved with all manner of related fields.

Take this one for example:

Lex asked me to take a look at this piece of antique silver jewelry which is a vintage sterling silver enamel brooch pin with Siam dancing girls filigree.

It's priced at $35 and allow interested buyers to make an offer.

Lex wants to know if that is a good price or should he make an offer that is lower but he doesn't like the hassle so if the brooch is worth the amount he will just order it at the asked price.

At 1 3/4in TALL, 1 1/2in WIDE and 13 grams, it is kind of steep but I don't really know whether to value that is a piece of silver jewelry or antique jewelry so I really don't know where to begin in making any kind of judgement.

But sure, I'll do something about this, Lex. I'll ask around friends and in class and see if anybody can offer good advice.

Strange that Lex thinks I know the answer to this but my opinion is to make a lower offer.

Is silver jewelry all about being shiny and bright?

Not always. We are learning about antiquing techniques in our jewelry crafting class and are introduced to tarnishing silver jewelry through chemical means.

Isn't tarnish supposed to be bad? Why would anyone want their silver jewelry tarnished?

I guess it's about aesthetics and variety. Artificially tarnished silver jewelry tend to lend a certain character to it.

I wished I had seen this before the last project.

I would have antiqued my pendant better with a patina, so that it has a more attractive aged look to show the details better.

Hopefully, with lots of practice I am able to make a silver pendant this cool.

Sam has been nagging me to make a piece of jewelry for her.

Well, of course I will want to make one for her but at my present skill level, I can hardly come up with any substantial design.

I was just waiting for my skill to reach a high enough level. It will only take about five years.

If you want good stuff, you'll got to have patience, girl.

Anyway, to stop her from continually nagging, I'll try to come with something, perhaps a simple and basic pendant like this one

I think it is nice. I'll probably pick something like this in a shop for Sam. Or maybe not. Sam has been eyeing jewelry with more complicated designs lately.

But she'll understand that I'm doing my best. Wouldn't she?

Came across a webpage with a silver pendant that got me a little frustrated.

The description says: "This beautiful pendant is made from fine sterling silver and genuine citrine. Reminiscent of a David Yurman style, it will be treasured for years to come. It measures .8" long and .5" wide."

The pendant looks looks like the kind of designs I like. But then I can't be totally certain. I looked hard at the enlarged photograph and liked the cut of the stone even more but I can't picture how the pendant is like without at least a side view.

It's kind of frustrating as the price is right too. Usually. I don't mind if the delivered product is a little different from the impression of the one in the photograph but in this case I can only form a partial image from the front view.