"Paul's" Nacred Encounter: Alien Inspired Citrine and Black Pearl Pendant
We pride ourselves on unique and one of a kind designs, and our new alien inspired pendant,Ā āPaulā, is certainly out of this world.Ā Ā
The design for Paul came from searching through a range of pearls; The Village Goldsmith founder andĀ Director, Ian Douglas, discovered this baroque (natural and organic shaped) black pearl.Ā PearlsĀ are created when a minuscule foreign body, like aĀ grain of sand, becomes stuck inside a mollusc.Ā The molluscĀ thenĀ buildsĀ up layers of nacre (a calcium carbonate formula) around it. The more layers that build up, the larger the pearl gets.Ā Sometimes these layers can form as perfect balls, and other times they may formĀ asĀ organic shapes.Ā
IanĀ noticedĀ thisĀ particularĀ baroque black pearlĀ was not only organically shaped, but featuredĀ indentationsĀ which made itĀ look similar to what can only be described as a āstudious alien head.ā That inspiration led toĀ matching āPaulā to a gorgeousĀ emerald cut 4.98ctĀ citrine, the two combining to create aĀ silver and goldĀ alien studying the miraclesĀ ofĀ the universe.Ā
Ā
Ian sketched the design of PaulĀ and gave the task of his creationĀ toĀ master jeweller, Darren Orr. When he was first given the design, DarrenĀ was very hesitantĀ ā we often craft out of the box designs, but this sketch was a step further. This piece is ābyĀ far the most whimsical pieceā Darren has been asked to craft,Ā butĀ he quickly warmed to the task of bringing PaulĀ to life.Ā
Ā
The first step was to carve a wax master which was thenĀ castĀ to createĀ the sterling silver bodyĀ and then add theĀ 9ct yellow gold twirling 'antennaā. Once the precious metals were cast andĀ cleanedĀ up, Darren then set theĀ citrine. TheĀ citrineĀ is not secured in place with a traditional setting style,Ā theĀ claspsĀ are in fact the alienās hands,Ā hand-engraved to create a finger like appearance.Ā Ā
To set the baroque black pearl into place, Darren placed a pin-like peg into the pearl to attach it to the sterling silver backing. Finally, the 9ct yellow gold spiralling feature was added to the top of the pendantās design. The total crafting process took Darren six hours from start to finish and he wasĀ taken with the character ofĀ the design throughout that time. AfterĀ all, how often does anyone get to craft a studious looking alien pendant with a pearl for a head and holding aĀ citrineĀ as aĀ portal to the universe?Ā Ā
While we are known for crafting pieces inspired by stories, sometimes the story is brought to life through the crafting process or elements of the piece. This pendant was inspired by a single pearl, the design was drawn, and a vision was fashioned.Ā Ā
