At long last I've done something with that ammonite pendant!



It makes me feel like I'm figuring out this new camera - I finally got the purple to show up in some of these pics!

Available for sale in my Etsy store.

Labels: ammonite, andalusite, jewelry, lapidary, necklace

After a bit of deliberation, I decided to use sterling silver for the bail instead of copper. I got the front part of the spiral done and summarily pounded, but figuring out the rest of the bail was a little interesting. I think I had it in about five different configurations before settling on a smaller spiral for the back. (We'll call it "work hardening" and leave it at that, right?)

Spending all that time staring closely at the front of the ammonite made me notice something intriguing: there are hints of purple at the edges of the opalescent section. From everything I've read on the coloration of ammolite (the resulting gemstone fashioned from the opalescent bits of ammonite that are thick enough) the colors are based on the thickness of the material. Red coloration represents the thickest layers and is most common, while purple is at the end of the spectrum, represents the thinnest layers and is much more rare. Most pieces of ammolite that I've seen include red up through about green, but very little blue or purple. I don't quite know how that corresponds to the coating on my ammonite, but the purple has me encouraged, no matter how impossible it is for me to capture on a camera.

So I pretty much had to go with andalusite on this one for starters. I mean, how could I choose anything else?





I'm still debating what else I'm going to incorporate into this. I mean, pearls are a given. (They always are with me - I'm a sucker for pearls.) I have some red rutilated quartz that might be fun, but the color may be a bit too close to the andalusite for it to be effective. My fossil coral stash would be too much of a contrast, though. Decisions!

Labels: ammonite, andalusite, jewelry, lapidary