'Torus Wave Ti-Ag' Titanium and silver bangle

Titanium and silver bangle, named 'Torus Wave Ti-Ag', made using CAD/CAM, spark erosion, conventional machining and handwork, 1996, made by David Watkins.

David Watkins (born 1940) is a British artist, metalworker and architectural sculptor renowned for his experimental use of a wide variety of materials, which have included paper, plastics, neoprene, metals and precious metals, often in combination. Watkins has explored various methods associated with each of these materials to produce jewellery and wearable sculpture, particularly industrial materials.

‘Torus Wave Ti-Ag’ is a bangle by David Watkins made of titanium (Ti) and silver (Ag) using various manufacturing methods (CAD/CAM, spark erosion, conventional machining and handwork). It showcases how a combination of modern and conventional metalwork techniques can be used to produce one cohesive piece out of two metals with very different properties: one conventionally associated with jewellery; and the other conventionally associated with industrial applications. It is also an example of the application of methods traditionally associated with industrial processes to jewellery-making and sculpture, illustrating the versatility of metals and metalworking techniques. The pieces of metal were cut using spark erosion; a method of precision cutting that allows for such a tight fit that no welding or adhesive is required to secure the silver core within the titanium outer circle.