The second thing I ever made was a pendant, using a banded agate cabochon.  I learned (belately!) one of the very important lessons goldsmithing teaches you, which is not to cut corners; near enough is NOT good enough.  I made the pendant well, and was pleased with the quality and the way it looked, but when I made the bail, I did not take enough time over it and so was never happy with it.  Of course that one element of the piece which was substandard meant that the whole piece was not satisfactory!

I came very close to getting rid of the piece all together, but at the last minute, my husband helped me look at it through fresh eyes, and I realised that all that it needed to be a quality piece was a well-made bail! (Surprise, surprise…) I removed the old one, designed this new spiral one, and now the pendant is in my shop waiting for a new home!