Silver-brass reticulated

The shallow dished shape holding the ball (silver mixed with brass to imitate gold) is 'reticulated' - that is, the silver is heated to the point where the surface just begins to melt; it then sets in wrinkles as it cools. I used sterling for this, but you can buy special 'reticulated' silver - 80% silver and 20% copper - so that near the melting point a more dramatic reticulation is achieved. The process depletes the copper from the alloy's surface, leaving a more silver-rich surface layer with a texture of peaks and valleys formed, as the core layer of copper contracts when cooling