The Holiday Opal- A Pendant for Pauline

Pauline and her husband are lovely repeat clients of mine. Some time ago, they purchased a custom made, 'Encased Designs' pendant from me. Recently Pauline dropped in to see me at the Old Bus Depot Markets in Canberra, bringing with her a loose piece of boulder opal. The pair had purchased the gem from a shop in Blackall in Central Queensland on a holiday up north. Boulder opals are natural Australian gemstones which form as veins of colour in the brown ironstone of certain areas in Queensland. Because these coloured veins are so thin, opal cutters leave a layer of ironstone on the back to give the gems more bulk and prevent damage to the delicate opals. In general, I'm not usually a big fan of opal, but this stone is amazing.  There is something captivating about the organic shape and sweeping bands in tones of blue that move like liquid across the stone.

Pauline asked me to design and make a silver pendant to hold the opal. With her only instructions being "something simple", Pauline gave me complete control over the design. After tossing around a few ideas I crafted a highly polished silver surround to run around the edge of the stone. Then across the center of the design I created wide tabs to hold the opal in place (without the use of any yucky glue). The tabs line up with the natural colour banding in the middle of the opal and have a matte finish, to contrast with the high polish of the surround. Add a square shaped bail and leather cable, and the job was done.

Front, side and back views of Pauline's opal pendant.

The couple collected their necklace from me last week and seemed really pleased with the result. With lovely holiday memories and a beautiful design, I do hope you enjoy wearing it for years to come Pauline.

Love from The Jeweller. xx