Mother Nature provides beautiful inspiration. This fact stands true whenever you see natural forms before you. Whether it’s a ring with a floral design or an embossed leaf on a pendant, Mother Nature can inspire us in many ways. Nature-inspired jewelry trends can be fascinating to wear. If you’re a collector, then you know all about shimmering gold and glittering diamonds. But if you’re searching for a unique piece that brings you closer to nature, consider Nature’s D’Or jewelry. Natural jewelry connects us to nature. Coating real leaves in precious metal, leaf jewelry is a simple and stylish way to bring ourselves closer to nature.
What is Nature’s D’Or?
Nature’s D’Or is a nature-inspired jewelry range from Shop LC. It features leaf jewelry designed by selected artisans who excel in their craft. Splendid, sprawling, and diverse, these natural designs provide a standout appeal to any ensemble.
Each piece in Nature’s D’Or collection is unique, affordable and inspired by Mother Nature. The versatile collection features the beautiful texture of leaves in a natural presentation. Available in gold and silver, Nature’s D’Or jewelry offers an extensive selection of natural leaves.
How is Leaf Jewelry Made?
This beautiful leaf jewelry is made in America, through a proprietary method in Los Angeles. The entire process of transforming a raw leaf into a shining jewelry piece takes almost four weeks, involving the careful handwork of veteran artisans.
1. Selecting Leaves
Collecting fresh leaves occurs over many different regions. Lacey oak, birch, and rose leaves come from the San Gabriel Mountains. Maple leaves are shipped from the Northeast part of the country, as well as from Canada. These raw leaves are kept fresh and flat in their original condition.
2. Sorting and Cleaning Leaves
Not all leaves can be used for jewelry processing. In the sorting process, leaves in the mint condition are chosen. They must not have any flaws such as cracks or holes. If the leaves are dirty, they are cleaned in water at this stage.
3. Creating Filigree
During this process, a filigree texture is applied to the leaves by using specialized skills and tools. The outer layers from the surface of both sides are carefully removed, exposing the veins of the leaf. This allows us to see through the leaves, making the leaf jewelry more attractive.
4. Plating Preparation
Before plating, leaves must be made conductive for electroplating. Therefore, they are dipped in liquid copper paint and dry until they are cured. Each leaf receives a final inspection to ensure there are no spots or other imperfections. Leaves receive a final coat to even out the base.
5. Racking the Leaves
In this process, the conductive dried leaves are racked onto a copper wire, which is required for electroplating. Every leaf is picked one-by-one and placed on a piece of copper wire. It must be done this way, as each leaf is very delicate and could break if not handled properly.
6. Plating in Copper
Before plating the leaves in gold or silver, they first receive copper plating. The copper plating makes the original leaves rigid and provide enough contact for the final metal finish. To reach the appropriate hardness, the leaves are kept in the copper plating solution for long hours. Copper builds up on the leaves very slowly. For example, it takes 8 to 10 hours to plate maple leaves in copper.
7. Finishing with Gold and Silver
After the copper plating is complete, the leaves are moved to next stage. Nickel plating is applied if required. This process helps shine the surface and prevent the item from tarnishing. Finally, leaves are undergo plating with a precious metal finish such as 24K gold, platinum, sterling silver or rose gold for you to cherish forever!
Which leaves should we offer next? ‘Leaf’ a comment and let us know!