Dunedain Star Brooch...

[Eledhwen]

Er..yeah, like that. LOL Good job Faolan!

Eledhwen

[Ernildir]

Still somehow leaning toward a single star design. . . .in silver. . .I'm reminded of the line in the book.

"There was no gleam of stone or gold, nor any fair thing in all their gear and harness; nor did their riders bear any badge or token, save only that each cloak was pinned upon the left shoulder by a brooch of silver shaped like a rayed star."

Yes, Mirimaran, a mock up would have to be done before final design goes to press. The final would be much smaller than this drawing obviously.

Wish I could afford the pmc clay, that would be ideal for at least a preliminary view.

Faolan

Yeah... I would only go for a single star, myself. The brooch of the Dunedain was clearly shaped like a rayed star, so we would be losing authenticity if we had a circular brooch.

[Greg]

I support the single star version.

Since most of us use cloaks that secure in the center, we could have a weaker pin to maintain the star as a cosmetic badge of our group/rank, etc. Just a thought.

[Kiriana]

Ok.. I liked it better as a single star... only because the extras make it just a tad too "busy" for me. I really do like simple.

But, it is a kool design.

I myself would wear as more of a brooch and not as a cloak pin.. and not need it to be too big. But that is just me. So, having it have the points sticking out, vs mounted star on an oval or circle wouldn't bother me.

[E.MacKermak]

I like the plain star. The star on the disk with other stars is a little too busy for my preference...I kinda like it simple. How big are we picturing this brooch? That will come into play. And do we want pewter, brass, bronze? I know the passage says silver but that would get expensive in a hurry just for materials.

[Faolan]

Pewter would not be that expensive, and could still be kept polished, it would not be bright as silver. it could also be lacquered to help keep its initial shine.

The star as it is now is about 3" top to bottom, that could be reduced to 1/2 that size and still have a nice brooch.

Faolan

[Mirimaran]

I think (lead-free) pewter would be good for the brooch. I don't know if they do much in pewter but the Craft Celts do amazing work:

http://www.craftycelts.com/

also, these fine folks look like they know their pewter!

http://www.billyandcharlie.com/

Ken

[Jon]

It's very good! I think the black background works very well. I'd say just under 2 inches in diameter?

[Eledhwen]

What you use for material depends on how you want to use it. Some metals are stronger than others in different ways.

A single star, just as a brooch and not as a cloak pin, can be quite small, likely not a problem in any particular way, and it could be pinned pretty much anywhere.

A brooch to hold a cloak..especially one of any real weight, has to be rather larger...limited in where you can put it, at which point the arms of the star can become problematic anywhere but in 'dress' circumstances.

It is simply what you want it to do.

As for the oval design...yep, busy...if all the stars are in relief. If the small ones are simply etched, not raised, they'd be almost invisible until you got close. Or leave them off. It really does not matter to me; I'm good with what folks feel like going with regardless.

Eledhwen

[Faolan]

For myself, I would probably use this just as a brooch pinned on the cloak. None of my current cloak/capes close to the side and having even rounded points near my throat could be problematic! O_o

We have the basic star that most seem to like, I guess it is a matter of consulting with a jewelery crafter and seeing what the possible methods/materials are available and of course the cost of mass-producing it.

The process I would use would be to make a clay prototype, pour a plaster mold then use the pewter that Jas. Townsend sells and pour that into the plaster mold, but I'm not a jeweler either.

Ideally, I would make it with silver PMC clay which could also be pushed into a plaster form.

This stuff, http://www.silver-clay.com/ seems to be cheaper than the original pmc but is still pricey.

Faolan

[Kiriana]

I like the idea of pewter with one thing bad about it.. it's not very durable.. as pewter is soft.. bronze would be more durable but doesn't have that silver look.

And I still prefer it as a regular broach vs a cloak pin. And even at 2" in diameter.. it's a nice size for a regular broach.

[Eledhwen]

Bronze can be easily plated with silver. Even with a home kit. I have plated some of my Celtic jewelry this way.

Eledhwen

[kaelln]

I've had quite a bit of experience with pewter jewelry, and it wears out rather quickly. It doesn't take long for pewter to lose details, and if you try to keep it polished, it wears out even quicker. If we're going with a brooch, which seems preferable to me, I would vote for silver plated bronze, or even just bronze, as it's more camo and cheaper , and my preference would be for the size to be around an inch to an inch-and-a-half. Much bigger than that, and it looks kinda cartoony to me.

[Faolan]

Time to find a jewel crafter

Faolan

[Ernildir]

I wouldn't mind pewter or silver-plated anything... the material doesn't matter to me so long as it has a silverish tone. I wouldn't want just bronze, though, because the color of bronze is just too far off. And I think somewhere around an inch and a half would be good. Definitely no greater than two.