One-of-a-Kind Sculptural Sterling Silver & Ferruginous Quartz Necklace.
A truly extraordinary, completely one-of-a-kind necklace by Christiana, an artist whose work I have a particular fondness for.
I had the pleasure of exhibiting alongside Christiana back in the late 1990s, so whenever one of her pieces appears at auction, I’m always delighted to see it — and even more delighted when I manage to bring one home. I remember being fascinated by the wonderfully organic way she created her jewellery, and this necklace is a beautiful example of her distinctive style.
At its heart is a unique natural stone, left in its wonderfully raw, sculptural form. The stone has beautiful layers of deep earthy red, charcoal, silver and intricate natural banding, with a textured, almost geological quality. Christiana has then built around it using her signature handmade sterling silver nugget beads. Each tiny nugget is individually formed, varying in size and shape, giving the necklace an wonderfully tactile, irregular quality — no two beads are quite alike.
The necklace itself is equally special. Rather than using a conventional chain, Christiana has created the entire neckpiece from hand-shaped sterling silver wire, with its wonderfully free-form, almost sketch-like lines. At the back is a fabulous double-heart sterling silver clasp, adding another lovely handcrafted detail.
It is a wonderfully tactile piece of wearable sculpture — organic, expressive and completely unique.
I’ve shown it worn traditionally with a shirt, but also styled with the collar turned up to demonstrate how dramatically different it can look. It’s the sort of necklace that becomes the focal point of an outfit without needing anything else.
Details:
• Sterling silver – tests as sterling, although not hallmarked.
• Weight: 63.8g
• Stone measures approximately 4.7cm high × 2.8cm wide × 1cm deep
• A completely unique, one-of-a-kind piece
£125
A very special piece from an artist whose work I have admired for decades — and have a few of Christian’s necklaces in my private collation.
