Sue Rosengard Earrings

Meet Sue Rosengard, my most recent artisan find.  Sue Rosengard's artistry lies in fashioning metal into beautiful + functional pieces of contemporary, geometric jewelry designs that flatter each + every wearer.  Sue loves to create affordable, well-crafted, timeless jewelry that appeals to all.  Her lightweight, easy to wear pieces are inspired by her midwest roots, the skyscrapers of Chicago + its multi-faceted cosmopolitan influences.  Plus Sue cannot separate the cultural insight brought to the midwest by Frank Lloyd Wright + other Modernist designers such as jewelers Margaret de Patta and Paul Lobel, sculptor Alexander Calder along with Russell Wright who play such a large role in his designs.

A little about Sue's "career" [more like a kid in toyland kind of fun on a daily basis] designing + making jewelry which began in 1986 in New York City after completing her degree in French studies from the U of I.  {Of course that meant she needed to study abroad in Paris + Italy where fashion was born}.  Back to the topic of jewelry.  Sue is primarily self-taught beginning with her initial intro into jewelry making - an intensive 2-week study in New York at the New School where she realized immediately that she had found her calling.  So Sue continued her studies and eventually returned to Chicago, her hometown.  

Sue then began a full-time career in jewelry making at her Pilsen neighborhood studio, a long standing enclave of artists studios. Sue's refurbished studio is in a 95 year old building that previously housed a bar, a brush + beauty supply business, used tires + other illustrious establishments all melding into her source of inspiration as I'm sure the huge windows do.  Sue + her phenominal assistants share a spectacular view of downtown Chicago with their 2 resident dogs in the role of watchdog.  {If they're anything like our furry friends, they spend more time resting than guarding except when food is around.}  You know..... there is truly something to be said of the person who loves animals!!!

Sue primarily crafts her jewelry out of sterling, vermeil + a few plated components. She saws, cuts, drills, stamps + wire-forms by hand to achieve her unique designs. The wire work is done without the use of forms or jigs - just simple hand tools necessary to achieve her goal of friends + customers wearing a handmade, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry complementary to the wearer's individual style + personality.

Jewelry materials:

What is Vermeil?
Vermeil is a French term designating a silver, bronze or coppery object plated with gold. Today the term is used in commerce  to describe gold plating on sterling silver.

What is gold-plated, aka electroplating?  A solution containing gold particles + disodium phosphate (the electrolyte) is placed in a metal tank. This tank becomes the anode (or negative). The item to be plated is suspended from a rod + becomes the cathode (positive). The rod is dropped into the solution. So now we have a positive, a negative + the electrolyte all together.  A charge of electric current passes thru the solution creating an ionic exchange + the gold particles pass from the solution to the item which is gold.

What is gold-filled?
A thin layer of 12kt or 14kt gold is fused onto a base metal, usually brass. 1/20 of the total weight of the metal is real karat gold so it is real gold that actually comes into contact with the skin.

What is Sterling Silver?
An alloy of 92.5% pure silver + usually 7.5% copper. Pure silver is too soft for most uses + needs to be combined with another metal. It is the copper in sterling that causes it to tarnish.

What is Argentium™ Sterling Silver?
The word argentum was used in the ancient world to refer to silver.  Argentium™ today is a relatively new type of sterling silver alloy that is highly tarnish resistant, harder + more durable than "regular” sterling.  Argentium™ is still sterling, having at least 92.5 pure silver.  It is the other 7.5% that has been changed.  Sue uses Argentium™ wherever she can. 

EAR WIRES - sterling silver or gold-filled

EAR POSTS - sterling silver

CHAIN - sterling silver or gold-filled

CABLES - sterling

PEARLS perfectly round white - glass irregular shaped - freshwater pearls