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Amethyst Rosette Necklace

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Amethyst Rosette Necklace   This necklace includes:
*Brazilian amethyst rosette cut by Eidos
*Carved rock crystal
*Quartz crystal chips
*Rosebud and keshi pearls
*Faceted amethyst beads
*Sterling bezel and findings

Rosette:  2.5" x 2.25" (6.5cm x 6cm)
Length (braided as shown):  15"-18" (38cm - 46cm)
Weight:  4.4 oz (137 gm)



  Item #233             Lost in Fire
Please click on the image for a detailed photo.
 
This amazing crystal is very hard to photograph! I hope to have some photos from Robert Liu soon, so they will show it off better! It is very pale, almost white. It has a whisper of a pale amethyst color, and there is a curious swish of green from the bit of malachite on the back which shines through. I made baby rosettes from vintage clear seed beads centered with rosebud pearls. The keshi pearls in the necklace are some of the most lovely I've ever seen-- dyed a delicate purple, they complement the amethyst perfectly. The carved rock crystal and quartz chips all add to the effect. The quartz chips are unusual-- they are perfectly water-clear; and the holes have been polished so their brilliance is fantastic! Larger pale faceted amethyst beads enhance the effect.

Sometimes people ask why a "simple" necklace like this costs so much. After all, they can buy a nice necklace for $30 from any major catalog. That's true. Perhaps you would be interested to know what goes into the construction of a piece like this. First, it isn't hard to do the math on the $30 necklace-- by the time the retailer, importer, exporter, etc. double the price along the way, you know the cost of labor and materials has to be less than $5. In contrast, I search far and wide for highly unusual materials. The keshi pearls alone at wholesale cost more than your $30 necklace! The rosette is absolutely one-of-a-kind. Nature never makes the same the same thing twice! The cutter had two or three rosettes, but the others were 8" across. This was the only one the right size for jewelry. In addition, it is very strong, so can be worn.

Finding the materials is just the beginning! Your $30 necklace was designed by someone, and that took time. However, it is probably a fairly simple design to construct, and the design time involved mainly getting attractive materials, etc. That design cost was spread over 1,000 or 10,000 units, so added a minimal amount to the unit cost. In contrast, this rosette is an incredibly complex piece to work with. First of all, there is no commercial finding that could possibly hold it. It would have been great if I could have ground the back flat, but that would have destroyed the crystal's integrity and probably would have caused it to crumble. So I had to cut endless paper bezels to get a design which would fit into the fissure on the back where the crystal is folded and which would reach out and grab the edge in an unobtrusive way. Then of course I had to saw that out of silver, file all the edges, solder attachments for the necklace, pickle and polish it, and set the crystal without crushing it in the pliers (it is hard to hold your breath that long!). The beaded rosettes take considerable time to make-- done in brick stitch, each bead is sewn on individually, then the elements are sewn together and an attachment is made on the back. The strands are designed carefully to look rich without becoming a mishmash, and the beads and pearls are individually knotted on the strands. Finally, when I put it on, I decided the crystal felt too rough against the skin, so I beaded a little pinafore of clear round seed beads to make it comfortable. I hope you will begin to understand the many hours of labor and high cost of materials that is required to use one-of-a-kind materials and make them wearable and beautiful.

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