Necklace Details
Green Tourmaline (Vintage) – Tourmaline has one of the widest color ranges of any gem species. Its colorful nature contributed to the belief that it strengthened artistic ability and creativity and promoted inspiration. Some tourmalines, most often green, blue, or pink, show a soft cat’s-eye effect called chatoyancy. Chatoyancy (pronounced shuh-toy-ants) is an optical effect where a material displays a single, luminous band of reflected light that appears to move across its surface, resembling a cat's eye slit. It's caused by inclusions that reflect light, creating a shimmering, three-dimensional look on a flat surface. Tourmaline is the only common mineral that crystallizes with three-sided prisms. This unique stone is also pyroelectric and piezoelectric, becoming electrically charged when heated or squeezed! Tourmaline is considered a stone of detoxification, healing, and protection, one of October’s birthstones, and given as an eighth anniversary gift.
Pearl (Japan; Freshwater) – Pearls have been desired around the world for more than 4,000 years and associated with the moon, wisdom, and love. Formed when a mollusk slowly coats an irritant with thousands of layers of nacre, the iridescent material responsible for pearl’s lustrous shine and organic shape, Pearls are the only gem that comes from a living creature. In 1893, Kokichi Mikimoto successfully cultured a pearl for the very first time in Japan and in the early 1900s, pearls became a symbol of the Divine Nine Sororities and the inner strength and resilience needed for college-educated Black women to challenge discrimination. Today, Pearl is one of June’s birthstones and given as 3rd and 30th anniversary gifts.
Swarovski Crystal (Austria) – Swarovski was founded in 1895 following Daniel Swarovski’s invention of the world’s first electric-powered crystal cutting machine and lexicon of crystal cuts that produced a new level of crystal clarity. After viewing the Northern Lights, he partnered with Dior to create his famous Aurora Borealis, or AB, coating, a very thin layer of gold applied to half of a crystal’s facets to create an iridescent, shimmering effect. Today, Swarovski Crystals provide the sparkle for Beyonce and Taylor Swift’s concerts, most notably with 250,000 crystals on Beyonce’s red catsuit (Cowboy Carter Tour) and more than 5,000 on Taylor Swift’s guitar (Eras Tour), now housed at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum.
22K Gold Vermeil (India) – 22K gold has a bright yellow hue and balances beauty with strength and resilience. Gold has been revered and coveted since ancient times, worn by royalty, and associated with the divine and sacred. This precious metal has long been connected with alchemy and reminds us of our innate potential for transformation and enlightenment. Gold is given as a 50th anniversary gift.