Oak leaf brooch

 

Gold plated impression of an oak leaf in copper
Gold plated impression of an oak leaf in copper

This brooch is about 6cm long and has a steel pin on the rear with a pin protector.  It ws something of an experiment in embossing patterns by rolling.  Tp get this result an oak leaf was rolled between two sheets of annealed copper.  The leaf was then sulphided to enhance the detail and then a very thin gold plate was applied.  I intend to let the copper border tarnish naturally – we shall see what it looks like in time.

The picture below is an enlargement of the embossing to show the fine detail of the leaf in the copper.

Detail of embosssed oak leaf
Detail of embosssed oak leaf

Each brooch will be unique as, although there may be a mirror image available, the leaf is destroyed during the process.