Off the wall question

I have an off the wall question and I hope an expert can help me or tell me what to do or where to go or if it's impossible.
I had a steel ball bearing dug out of my side from Iraq. I wanted to turn it into a small crucifix (weird I know, but hey...) gold plate it and have it be worn as a pendant. Is there any way this is possible? Is there anyone in west WA @ the Tacoma area that can do that? Can I do it? What equipment would I need to do this? How? Etc. Thanks for your help

[Luann Udell]

An incredible idea!  What a story there, I'll bet....

Could you contact a local foundry and ask them if they can recast it, or if a blacksmith could do something with it?  Check your local yellow pages, or do a Switchboard search.
Luann

[Metalman]

This is very possible with some tech concerns.
I think my first question is what size is the steel ball bearing?
Recasting or forging the actual steel would be difficult to do. Size allowing, you could have the bearing treated as a 'stone' and mounted into a custom fitting or finding so that is does what you hope for. There is a new material around called Art Clay Silver which would work quite well to form up a cross that the ballbearing could be fitted into. You could build the cross yourself - this material is fairly easy to work with.
AS to gold plating, I am concerned about metal differences for this piece.  This is something that needs to be checked with a plating company.  It will be easiest to fabricate a cross in sterling silver or the Art Clay, using gold would be $$ - then the question is whether you can plate steel and silver, with gold at the same time??
Don't hesitate to send more in depth questions regarding getting this made up - I can explain the tech if you need.

[Polly]

I wonder what temperature the ball bearing would melt at?
Maybe an Art Clay Gold cross or crucifix could be formed around it?  (Only if the ball bearing wouldn't melt at the gold firing temperatures...)

jsap307, are you looking to have the ball bearing ground down into a rough cross shape before having other metal added to it?  
One note to consider: people who can (nicely) carve/mold/shape (small) figures are few and far-between.  A plain cross is much more likely to turn out nice, unless you find just the right artisan.

--Polly