Hallmarked Oak leaf necklace - handmade from solid silver using a real oak leaf complete with sterling silver chain

A stunning handmade silver oak leaf pendant or necklace made using a real oak leaf. Inspired by nature and captured forever as this unique piece of jewellery.

• Approximate length of leaf ? cm (I'll add mesaurements in the week but see photo with my hand for scale for now!)
• Hanging on a sterling silver snake chain (45cm)
• Presented in a gift box. (Esther Priestley gift boxes - are made from jewellery boxes are made from FSC®-certified cardboard and water-based glue and the foam insert uses Tall oil – a by-product extracted from tree pulp during paper production, making them an truly eco-friendly design)

Inspiration : I love oak trees and there are lots around here, including a beautiful one in the field opposite our house.  From the kitchen window we can watch this throughout the seasons, as its leaves grow and create a gorgeous canopy in Spring and then change colour and drop in the Autumn.  The branches create a haven for wildlife - jays, magpies, crows and squirrels have all been busy harvesting the acorns and a number of tiny little trees are growing nearby, no doubt an off-spring of this very tree.

The process: These oak leaves have been collected on local walks and whilst they were still freshly picked I coated them with their first layer of silver clay.  Then over a process of several weeks I added layers - up to about 9 in total.  The delicate clay shapes then went into my kiln, where the actual leaf itself burns away, leaving behind the imprint in silver.