German-carved Agate centerpiece from the Grimm CompanyAgate Wreath Necklace
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This Agate carving practically jumped into my tray of stones during one of my Tucson gem show adventures. There is a large room at GJX where many fine German cutters show their work. This was a one-of-a-kind offering and unfortunately the vendor did not know the name of the cutter. This vendor always has a little corner devoted to unique pieces, and this one was completely different from anything else they had on offer.
I liked the asymmetrical design of the carving and could see it would look beautiful worn at the throat. I also liked the beautiful colors and the high polish. I loved the fact that the cutter left a couple of tiny bits of the Agate rind on the edges. This seemed to be a deliberate choice to honor the stone from which this beauty was cut. One only notices it when the stone is examined closely in one's hand, it is invisible when worn.
The only problem remaining was how to use the stone. It sat in my stash for a few years while I pondered that. I made some silver end-caps for it, but didn't like that look at all. Eventually I decided the least obtrusive attachment would be to drill it, run bead cable through it with French wire on either side to hide the cable and look like a tiny silver decorative element. So all that remained was to get up the nerve to drill it. The cutter knew that to make it wearable, even with metal end caps, the stone would have to be drilled, so s/he left slightly thicker attachment points on the ends. While I know Agate is very hard, tough and not prone to fracturing, I'm not an expert at drilling stone. I used a tiny diamond ball bur, drilled slowly with lots of water and fortunately the stone was patient with me. Since it is translucent, I was able to drill it from each side to prevent it from blowing out. I pretty much held my breath the whole time.
Then there was the problem of matching materials for the necklace. The Agate looks like Carnelian gently swirled in Chalcedony, but Carnelian beads are way too densely colored and didn't work at all. Eventually, after carrying the carving through various gem shows in Tucson and locally, the Sunstones spoke up. The freshwater pearls reference the lighter colors in the Agate.
Does this help you understand some of what I go through to make a piece for you? If this carving speaks to you I hope you'll order it. It is a one-of-a-kind treasure.
