Contrariwise ramblings

Creating each piece of new jewelry is a unique experience.  Sometimes a design comes from seemingly nowhere and almost creates itself, and sometimes the entire process is a struggle.  This necklace has definitely been the latter.

I bought this stone almost 2 years ago.  It was in a pile of tourmalated quartz cabs.  I picked it up because I liked it and it was different than most of the other cabs.  (Honestly, I'm not sure that it's tourmalated quartz.  Any thoughts out there on what it might be?)

Two years ago I was just starting to learn how to solder and set cabs.  So I when I initially created the bezel for this stone, I was really disappointed.  It was a great stone but it looked so boring and I didn't have the skills to do anything to help enhance it.  So I threw it into a box of silver scraps and half-finished works.

About 6 months ago I took it out again and started playing with it.  I drew a lot of sketches and eventually decided on the details - leaves, flowers, a bail that curves behind the stone, and an assymetrical hand-made clasp.

But even after I finished the necklace, it still proved to be obstinate!  I've spent several session trying to photograph it, and I still haven't been able to capture the unique patterns within the stone.  So far the photo of the necklace sitting in my hand is the closest to what the cab looks like in person.

If you want to see more photos, they can be found here.


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