The coral reef is an entire world unto itself, teaming with life in every cranny, and the agate focal bead of this necklace reflects that world in intricate miniature. Shaped like a cracking egg, sea creatures burst forth in three dimensions. On one side, a rose and green turtle slips out of the egg, while on another, a scallop shell and a strangely shaped coral (or is that the inside of a shell?) break out. Two fish touch snouts over a patch of crystal. The effect is both surreal and mythological, as if the reef is busting forth from a primal egg at the moment of creation. The level of detail is amazing, and I have never seen another pendant anything like this one.
This one of a kind necklace is hand-knotted on tan silk. The pendant is hand-carved from an agate pebble and there are druzy patches on one side. The beads are made of the opercula of turban sea snails, which have been cut, drilled and polished. The spacer beads are moss agate and gold vermeil. The clasp is gold vermeil imported from Bali. This is a long necklace and rather heavy; the pendant is 2 inches long and roughly cylindrical, and the necklace is roughly 23 inches in length, including the clasp.
Disclosure: Please note that the display mannequin in the photo is about half-human scale; the necklace has been draped around the back of the mannequin to simulate how the necklace would hang. Please refer to the other photos for a picture of the entire necklace and an indication of scale. The clasp and beads are gold vermeil: heavy gold plate over sterling silver. The other findings are gold-filled and thus contain base metal under a relatively thick layer of gold. Like all silk knotted necklaces, care should be taken not to get this necklace wet, and it should be stored flat: silk will stretch over time. Like all of my jewelry, this necklace is not intended for use by persons under 13.
About the materials:
An operculum (plural opercula) is the “door” of a snail’s shell. The opercula on this necklace are from the turban snail and are often sold under the trade name “Shiva Eye Shell” or “Pacific Cat’s Eye.” Unlike most opercula beads, these beads are cut and polished to an even size and shape and drilled through the center, rather than side to side, so that the “eye” that gives then their trade name is not prominent. I don’t know how these opercula were harvested, however they are often picked from the sea floor by divers or gathered on the beach after the death of the Turban snails, rather than collected from living animals.
Agate is a form of silicon dioxide (quartz) and is usually formed as nodules in volcanic deposits. Its characteristic banding and translucency distinguishes it from related stones in the chalcedony family. Agate is a hard stone, with a Mohs hardness of 7. Agates are supposed to make excellent “worry stones.”
