This gorgeous hand-knotted cross necklace is made of natural blue apatite with gold vermeil pumpkin beads. The blue of the cross and beads is amazing: a rich translucent aqua/turquoise color. The cross shows the natural veining of the apatite and has a beautiful satin shimmer in the sunlight (you can see the effect in the first photo). This is a very elegant and dramatic piece.
This necklace is hand-knotted on grey silk, and the clasp is gold vermeil from Bali. Gold vermeil is sterling silver, heavily plated with gold. At 17 inches, this necklace is intermediate between a choker and a princess length necklace. The cross is about two and quarter inches long.
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 stones:
Apatite is a form of calcium phosphate and often has fibrous inclusions that can give it a “cats-eye” or satin quality. Low-grade apatite is used as a fertilizer (!) and is also an ore for rare earth minerals, preferable to other such ores because its not radioactive and does not create an environmental hazard. Traces of apatite were found in rocks brought back from the Moon by the Apollo astronauts. It is quite a soft stone, with a Mohs hardness of 5, and should be treated with care.
