Cairngorm Quartz & Sapphire Sterling Silver Pendant

Genuine faceted Cairngorm Quartz, with the smoky appearance typical of this beloved national gemstone of Scotland, campanioned by a white faceted Sapphire in the bail of the pendant.

Gemstone is set in a 925 sterling silver claw frame. Pendant measures roughly 21x13x8mm, including bail. Comes beautifully presented in a Two Skies presentation box, complete with matching 18" 925 sterling silver link chain & both Cairngorm and Sapphire story cards.

Introducing the official national gemstone of Scotland! A particular type of smoky quartz found exclusively in the Cairngorm mountain range, it is known as 'Cairngorm quartz', 'Cairngorm stone' or simply 'Cairngorm'! It was extraordinarily popular during the Victorian age and was a favourite gem of the queen herself. Whole families of prospectors nicknamed 'diggers' worked on the mountains throughout the 1800s searching for this rare crystal. Nowadays the land is protected by the Cairngorms National Park Authority, making the beautiful Scottish smoky quartz even harder to come by. However, Two Skies managed to obtain rough material from a private historic collection, which when cut made such high quality faceted stones that even we were amazed. Our contemporary settings are highly unusual when most Cairngorm jewellery pieces on the market are antiques - get your own piece of Scottish history with a twist.
Why do silversmiths use 925%? Measured in parts per thousand, pure silver (999%) is too soft so silversmiths mix it with other metals to make it it harder. The purer the metal, the higher the polish, but it is a lot softer (thus less durable). The harder the metal is, the more hard wearing the jewellery is, but it will also tarnish easier as it has less silver content. Therefore, the silver industry set a standard percentage content for fine silver (925); what we know as "sterling silver". At Two Skies our silversmiths use 925 (sterling) silver for ring shafts and moving parts, and a very high 950% on our stones settings, which enables us to get a strong jewellery item with a beautiful and secure stone setting, without any gluing. Each piece of our jewellery is hand stamped with our Two Skies Hallmark alongside the recognised industry 925 Hallmark.