Nancy Bihler

All of Nancy’s silver, copper, and gold jewelry, including her chains, is completely hand-fabricated. She also makes many of the unique cabochon stones, which are cut and polished in her home shop. A cabochon, or “cab”, is a gemstone that has been shaped and polished as opposed to facetted. The resulting form is usually convex with a rounded top and a flat back. The normal procedure to make a cab is to cut a slice of the rough rock with a diamond saw, then stencil and trim a shape. The next step is to grind the shape with silicon carbide or diamond wheels, making the edges beveled and the top smoothed to a uniform dome, followed by a high polish. Cutting a cab takes time and patience. Nancy seeks out unique patterns in stone and strives to maximize the beauty of that stone.

One of her trademarks is the handmade Roman or Etruscan chain, which was the first chain Charlie taught her to make. These chains date back to the 7th century BC.