Made from hallmarked, forged Sterling Silver and part 24ct gilded and set with a Rose-cut Ethiopian Fire Opal.

With a lot of gems I buy, I have them for some time before I actually use them. I am something of a Magpie and shiny colourful things catch my attention easily…. So, I usually have a stock of gems awaiting use.

This was the case with these Ethiopian Fire Opals. I had never really been drawn to Rose-cut gems but when I saw the play of fire in these opals, I knew I had to get some. So about two weeks later I was sketching out designs for pendants and knew they were perfect for a few new, smaller Menhir items.

I had made many pendants for the Menhir collection before and thought I’d like to return to those shapes again and this time add Rose-cut gems and make them a bit smaller. As I was now experimenting with 24ct gold vermeil work I thought the gold underneath the Opal could really show off the dark sparkly colours of the gem well. So, as if often the case I spent a few hours sketching and leaving the sketch aside for a day of two then eventually came back to it and ended up with shapes that felt were right for the cut of the gems.

This pendant is 23mm tall, 18mm wide and 10mm deep.

SPECIFICATION

Materials: Part 24ct gilded, hallmarked Sterling Silver
Stones: Rose-cut Ethiopian Fire Opal