I recently had a design 3D printed in sterling silver, which is a big step for me. I didn’t try a plastic prototype first — I just went for it. If it didn’t work, I figured I would just have a lump of silver which is still worth something because it’s a precious metai.

I wanted to make something that might sell as a Valentine’s Day gift, which of course means something to do with the heart motif. I came up with this design that looks like an open book — think of that 1959 hit song “My Heart Is An Open Book”, which is probably before everybody’s time. This is a smallish pendant, but it weighs in at 2 ounces, so it feels like a hefty piece of jewelry.

I should mention that 3D printing a silver piece doesn’t involve printing the final piece — the process uses 3D printing to print the castable wax model, which is then used in the lost wax technique for making the actual item.