Reticulated Sterling Silver and Heather Handmade Pendant Necklace. Artful Jewelry by DianaHDesigns. One-of-a-kind, Earrings available too!

Handmade Made of reticulated silver, heather, sterling silver Pendant height: 2 7/8 inches Pendant width: 1 1/4 inches Description Modern Scottish Necklace with Heather has Architectural flair! Reticulated silver and heather (yes, heather like the plant!) are the two main "ingredients" in this contemporary pendant! Truly one-of-a-kind, this pendant was created with a variety of processes as well as a variety of unique materials! Heather is an icon of Scotland and is found widely in the Scottish Highlands. Interestingly, It thrives on poor, acid soils! The Highlands of Scotland is exactly where I bought a piece of compressed Heather, knowing one day it would grow up to be an awesome piece of jewelry! Well it's been six years ago since I bought that and it is finally now all grown up! I admit I wrestled with whether or not to sell this as it is a remembrance of a wonderful trip through England, Ireland and Scotland....but I decided I would! The compressed heather was cut into its interesting geometric shape and set with sterling silver prongs on a reticulated silver backplate. The heather has gorgeous shades of teal blue, gold and purple and care was taken to cut out a shape and in colors that complement the earrings you also see in the pictures. (These are available in a separate listing). The reticulated silver backplate is gorgeous in and of itself with incredible texture and a gently undulating surface. Accents to include lovely sterling silver "water castings" that look like little open oyster shells (water casting is a whole other process and one I can talk about another day!) as well as a lovely turquoise colored stone that I have set in a sterling silver bezel. A rich dark patina was applied which brings the gorgeous texture of the reticulation to life! Reticulating silver is a very organic process, with no two pieces turning out the same. Although I tend to be very geometric and modern in my work, with well-thought out designs, I find that the process of reticulation somewhat forces me to “let go” and let the process lead me (to a certain extent!) where it wants to go….it is a very Zen-like experience as you absolutely can not have a predetermined outcome…you just need to trust that you have the skill to not melt your metal into a molten pool of hot liquid! Interested in learning more about Reticulation? If so, read on towards the bottom of this page…and if not, just know that as time consuming as it can be, I had a lot of fun doing it and hope if you choose to buy this, that you will have a lot of fun wearing it! The pendant as photographed hangs from a lovely multi-cable neck wire. The pendant itself measures 2 7/8" in length top to bottom and 1 1/4" in width. In the sterling silver multi-cable neck wire, 15 strands of sterling silver compliment the bright silver tones in the pendant beautifully. This features a secure interlocking clasp. This is available in either a 16 inch or 18 inch length. It passes through a hidden bail on back of the pendant as seen in several of the photos. Please choose whether or not you would like the multi-cable neck wire with your purchase, and if so, what length. To be honest with you, $50 is an amazing price for this as it is just a few dollars more than what I pay for it. I pass this along as a courtesy to my customers purchasing one of my pendants. You will LOVE this neck wire as it works with this design beautifully and can be easily removed and used with other pendants! You may also choose to use a chain necklace of your own with this pendant for different lengths and looks! More about reticulation.... I have used "Reticulation Silver" sheet metal in this design, which is an alloy of 80% fine silver and 20% copper. Sterling silver is an alloy of silver (92.5%) and copper (7.5%) so the silver I used for this pair of earrings has a slightly higher copper content. My metal has been “prepped” for the reticulation process itself by completing a variety of steps. Repeatedly heating and quenching and pickling is first. When I have done this multiple times, the copper eventually becomes concentrated at the core of the metal and is surrounded by a skin of fine silver (99.999). At this point my metal is considered ready to be torched with a very hot flame. The hot flame brings the copper core (which has higher melting temperature than silver) to a melting point, creating a liquid contained within a silver skin. This coupled with the direction and path of the flame I am placing on my metal creates various patterns and textures. They are all truly one-of-a-kind and unique! The resulting patterns can look like textured or wrinkled fabric, something I am particularly drawn to, or can even look like a relief map of expansive mountain ranges! It’s a tricky process that requires skill and concentration as there is only about 100 degrees or so between the melting points for the metal skin and the interior…in other words it’s pretty easy to burn a hole right through the sheet of metal if you are not careful! Like most silversmithing techniques, reticulation takes practice. I had the good fortune to study this process under a world renowned jewelry artist and teacher by the name of Harold O’Connor early in 2020. To him I give my repeated thanks and gratitude as I am very comfortable now with the technique and find him to be inspirational. Google him if you are interested in checking out his work! It is amazing!! This necklace is as contemporary and modern as it is organic and casual! It is certainly unique, fun and easy to wear and sure to bring lots of complements! It will easily take you from day into evening as it is as wonderful with a t-shirt and a pair of jeans as it would be in the evening with a little black dress. This is a one-of-a-kind necklace. You will love wearing it...and won't ever see them on anyone else! A necklace to coordinate is shown in the last picture and available in a separate listing. Gift Wrap as shown is free! It is just me working in my studio, but my commitment is to ship within 1 business day (Monday - Friday) of receiving the order. I ship from Florida, and time in transit will vary depending upon where in the US you are located. I ship USPS with tracking info, which gets to most places within 3 - 5 business days. Priority Mail is available at check-out as an upgrade if you would like it faster! Exchanges I want you to be happy with your purchase. Each piece is handmade by me in my home studio in Sarasota, Florida. If you need to exchange your purchase, please call or email me to discuss. Please know that I am not able to offer refunds on items custom made to order. Thank You!