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  • A black, white, gray, green, yellow, and silver beaded necklace with a white, gray, and black tower-shaped stone pendant lies on a white background, curved so that the whole strand is visible.
  • A strand of black, silver, gray, and yellow beads lies on a white background. Two of the gray beads are double-drilled and feature silver wire with spirals at the ends.
  • A gray, black, white, yellow, and green beaded necklace with a large, tower-shaped stone pendant lies on a white background.
  • A strand of beads lies on a white background. Near the center is a large faceted bead, cloudy white with black needle shapes inside; that bead is bookended by smaller green stone chips, then yellow-golden beads, and at one end a black and a silver bead.
  • A square antiqued-silver toggle clasp attached to a strand of gray, black, silver, and yellow beads lies on a white background.
  • A woman wearing burgundy lip color and a lace-trimmed black top models a white, gray, black, yellow, green, and silver necklace with a large black and white tower-shaped pendant.

Black, White, Gray, Yellow, and Green Beaded Pendant Necklace

$495.00

"Battlemented" Necklace

This necklace is a sister piece to the "Precipice" Necklace. The pendant is the same type of stone, tourmalinated quartz, in a lighter color. But the relationship between these pieces is deeper: the inspiration for "Battlemented" is a passage from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Marble Faun that parallels the earlier passage that inspired "Precipice." 

In the passage that inspired the design of "Battlemented," Donatello gives his friend Kenyon a tour of the tower on his family's estate. When they reach the top, their conversation revives for Donatello the horror of the incident described in the earlier passage, an incident that would change his life and his beloved Miriam's forever, and Kenyon tries to encourage and protect his friend.

I found this passage so gripping, so moving, that I wanted to design a necklace based on it. And I chose the name "Battlemented" in honor of the spiritual and moral battle Donatello wages within himself and of the ways in which the friends in the novel try to protect and help each other. Battlements, after all, serve as protection but also as a place for attacking enemies from a defensive position.

The gemstones in this piece were chosen for the ways their shapes and colors evoke details from Hawthorne's passage. The tower shape of the pendant refers of course to Donatello's tower, and the lighter color alludes to the sense of hope that tempers his gloom. The silvery-gray crazy-lace agate represents the tower's gray stones, and the vivid green of the chrome diopside pays tribute to the little shrub that grows on top of the tower. The labradorite and the golden rutilated quartz refer to the mix of sunshine and clouds Kenyon observes. And finally, the hand-formed spirals of square sterling-silver wire represent Donatello's spiritual difficulties.

This necklace is a tribute to the power of friendship, the possibility of redemption, and the importance of perseverance. Wear it as a reminder of your strength and an encouragement never to give up.

The Details

  • length: approximately 18.75 inches
  • pendant dimensions: approximately 64x24; size may vary
  • clasp dimensions: approximately 20mm
  • sterling-silver clasp, findings, spacer beads, and square wire

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