Take my breath away...

I was in the middle of giving a soldering demo during tonight's CE class at RISD, when I was so distracted that I had to stop teaching all together. The culprit: this amazing Scottish stone necklace that one of my students was wearing.

It's just stunning, and the images really don't do the piece justice. The clasp is an amazing little box clasp, and each different piece of agate is separated by faceted citrine set in a decorative bezel. Really, the attention to detail is quite impressive.

Most of the stones found in Scottish stone jewelry were mined in the Cairngorm Mountains. Lots of smoky quartz, yellow quartz, and various warm, pale shades of quartz came from this range. The agates, carnelians, and other stones are mostly indigenous also.

Rena Abeles is the lucky owner of this beautiful piece of history. She is also the proud owner of Reliable Gold Ltd in Providence. Reliable Gold is an estate jewelry shop over in Wayland Square, which has been in her family since the 1930's. I can't wait to see what's in stock in the store, especially considering that Rena is always wearing the most exquisite pieces to class!