Smoky Quartz, Moldavite, Sapphire & Garnet Sterling Silver Pendant

Moldavites are an amazing type of natural glass, formed by the heat and impact of a meteorite landing on Earth 15 million years ago. Glass formations like this ('tektites') have been discovered across the globe, but moldavites are unique in their olive-green colouring and can only be found in a small area surrounding the river Moldau in The Czech Republic/Germany. Treasured for centuries by various cultures, it has been used for many purposes - from arrowheads to lucky talismans. Gram-for-gram, Moldavite is rarer than a diamond, as only 50 tonnes were ever formed on earth (compared to over 26 tonnes of diamond produced PER YEAR!)  Without a doubt very rare and precious, moldavites are also thought to hold extremely powerful metaphysical energies and are associated with the holy grail.

Sapphire, September's birthstone,  and its close cousin Ruby, are members of the corundum mineral species; they are chemically the same mineral, just a different colour.    This gem can also naturally appear in a wide spectrum of shades including yellow, purple, orange, green and white - corundum in these colours are known as 'Fancy Sapphires'!

From the east African country of Mozambique, this garnet has a warm, deep red that is similar to that of a ruby, and is often mistaken for one to the untrained eye! A good cut accentuates the gem's beauty, as seen in this faceted example.  Used in adornment for over 5,000 years, Garnets were popular in ancient Egypt from around 3100 BC, being used as beads in necklaces as well as inlaid jewellery (gems set into a surface in a decorative pattern). Garnet’s many myths frequently portray it as a symbol of light, faith, truth, chivalry, loyalty and honesty.

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.

Relax - you can shop with confidence at Two Skies.  If you change your mind, simply get in touch to let us know you want to return one or all of your items within 7 days of receiving your order, and we'll get a replacement/refund arranged - no quibbles!