The pair resting against a light stone: silver disc, amethyst and morganite in a row

Collection Creazioni in Argento·Orecchini

Sterling silver drop earrings with oval cabochon morganite and faceted amethyst

Name: Sterling silver drop earrings with oval cabochon morganite and faceted amethyst
Brand: Anna Gioielli
SKU: OVO1
Price: 270.0 EUR
Availability: InStock

Forty millimeters in all, and three parts that each turn on their own link.

€270,00 OVO1

Drawn and built by hand at the bench, in Tosi.

Each earring is made of three parts hanging one below the other, and each turns on its own link. On the lobe sits a domed, rough silver disc, its surface grainy with a small round hollow at the center, like a worn pebble. Below, an oval faceted amethyst held by four claws: it is the small stone, and it is also the only one of the two that sparkles. At the bottom, the largest: an oval morganite cabochon, closed inside a continuous plate setting of silver that runs right around its outline. The pink is pale and milky, held together by white veils that show against the light, and the dome sends back no sparks but a single long reflection that shifts with the movement. Between the bright violet of the small stone and the pale pink of the large one there is no gradation: they are the two extremes of the same color, set ten millimeters apart.

Forty millimeters from the lobe to the tip — short, for an earring carrying a stone of that size — and twelve grams twenty of silver at nine hundred and twenty-five thousandths: the maker states that weight once only, without saying whether it is for one earring or for the pair, and we do not decide it in their place. Morganite and amethyst belong to two families with nothing in common: the first is beryl, like emerald, and its pink comes from manganese; the second is quartz, and its violet comes from iron. That they end up next to each other is a choice of color, not of kinship. The morganite is roughed down as a cabochon and not faceted, and that is not an economy: the pink of beryl is seen through the thickness the light crosses, so the stone is cut tall and full, because on a thin slice that color would disappear. The carat weight of the two stones is not declared, and we do not add it.

The material

Weights and carats as the workshop declares them.

12,20 gramsSilver 925‰

Metals: Silver 925‰
Finish: Grainy, matt disc at the lobe, polished settings and links
Dimensions: Length 40 mm
Technique: Made by hand: the disc at the lobe left grainy, the amethyst set in four claws, the morganite closed inside a continuous plate setting fitted to the outline of the dome, the three elements joined by links that let them turn, post and butterfly at the back.

The stones

Morganite

One per earring, at the bottom, inside a closed bezel

Cut: Oval cabochon
Note: Declared natural by the maker; the carat weight is not declared

Amethyst

One per earring, between the disc at the lobe and the morganite

Cut: Oval faceted, on four claws
Note: Declared natural by the maker; the cut is not declared and has been read from the photographs; the carat weight is not declared

Three-quarter view on the edge: the post behind the disc at the lobe is visible

On dry branches, with the dome of the morganite seen from the side and the three jointed rings

How it is made

The words of the trade, one by one, explained to those who do not know them.

Morganite: Morganite is beryl, the same mineral species as emerald and aquamarine: what changes is the impurity locked in the lattice, and here it is manganese, which tints the crystal a pink that runs from peach to lilac. The name is from the twentieth century and comes from a gem collector, J. P. Morgan. The pink is almost always pale, and the color is seen through the thickness the light crosses: that is why morganite is cut in large stones, or roughed down into a cabochon, while on a thin stone the pink disappears. Most of what is on the market is heated, a stable treatment that removes the orange component and leaves a clean pink. In hardness it stands between seven and a half and eight and stands up to wear, but like all beryls it can have veils and fractures inside it, and on those a sharp knock does more damage than the hardness would lead you to expect.
Amethyst: Amethyst is violet quartz, and the violet does not come from a pigment: it comes from a few atoms of iron that ended up in the lattice in place of silicon and were then struck by the natural radiation of the rock. For that reason the color is almost never laid on evenly — it arranges itself in zones and bands, deeper on one side and lighter on the other — and orienting the stone properly under the wheel is exactly what serves to spread it. It is as hard as citrine, the seventh degree, and it can be worn every day without worrying about scratches; but that violet is the most delicate thing it has. Strong continuous light fades it, and heat erases it altogether: an amethyst heated enough turns yellow, and that is how a good part of the citrine on the market comes about. The violet once lost does not return.
Cabochon cut: No facets: the stone is roughed down and polished to a continuous dome. It is not the easiest cut, it is the cut that hides least — on a smooth surface every undulation can be read with the naked eye, while among facets it is lost. And the light does not come back in sparks: it enters, crosses the thickness and rises again carrying the color with it, so what you look at is the color and not the fire.
Post and butterfly fitting: The post passes through the lobe and behind it a butterfly holds it, two metal wings that grip the shaft by themselves. It is the simplest fitting there is, and precisely for that reason it has to be done well: the post must be soldered perpendicular to the body of the earring, because if it starts even slightly crooked the piece hangs askew on the lobe and there is no way to straighten it by wearing it. The butterfly, on the other hand, is the part that gets lost: it holds by friction, and friction falls off over the years until one day it no longer holds at all. You check it by pinching it lightly between two fingers, and when it has stopped offering resistance you replace it — it costs little, and a great deal less than the earring.

I don't look at what others are doing: I would rather create in my own style. That is what makes our jewelry recognizable.
Fabio Gori — Anna Gioielli, Tosi

Made for you

Every piece leaves the bench made to order: sizes and details are agreed before the work begins.

The goldsmith's workshop is also the place where made-to-measure jewellery is created and family pieces are restored: if you have an idea, or something you want brought back to how it was, that is where it starts.

Ask for a made-to-measure piece

Made by

Anna Gioielli

A goldsmith's workshop in Tosi, on the slopes of the Pratomagno: Anna opened it in 1988, her sons Fabio and Francesco carry it on. Piercing, repoussé, chasing and burin engraving — the Florentine school, with the workshop in full view of the shop.

All the creations by Anna Gioielli