The inspiration:
The peace of a hiking path through the deep woods, surrounded by leaves that glow every colour of green, from sunlight to shadow.

The materials:
Recycled sterling silver frames these rich forest green tourmalines sparkling like beads of water held on tiny leaves that sway and glitter in the breeze.

The history:
Tourmaline has been adored as a gemstone for centuries, but was often mistaken for other coloured gems like emerald and ruby because of its vast colour range. The ancient Egyptians believed that tourmalines were fragments of a rainbow that the crystals broke through as they grew up from the earth! Historically it was worn to strengthen insight and awareness, and was thought to have a strong calming and balancing effect against the stresses of everyday life. It has been considered symbolic of the heart, of love, of the divine feminine, and of the healing of old emotional wounds.

The process:
These tiny, oval, deep green tourmalines are set in handmade bezels against a solid backplate that has been polished behind the stones to bounce light through their depths. Beneath these settings, a trio of tiny silver beads glitter like dew drops. Above, a halo of sterling connects them to their 20g (.8 mm diameter) sterling silver earwires (the standard width wire for western ear-piercings.) A pair of clear silicone stoppers is included to keep them securely on your ears. The silver throughout has been polished to a high shine, while a touch of patina brings out the tiny beaded details and sets off the deep colour of these moody tourmalines.

The details:

• Earring length: 33 mm

• Earring width: 6 mm at its widest point

• Stone cut & size: natural tourmaline oval cabochons, approximately 5mm wide by 6 mm long.

• Stone source: Sacred Gemstone, Vancouver, British Columbia

My promise:
All of my jewelry is made by me, by hand, in my little home studio and will be shipped to you as shown, beautifully packaged and ready for gift-giving to someone special (like yourself!) I am a life-long artist and designer, and I take great care and pride in creating one of a kind jewels that evolve from my own design, emotion and inspiration, rather than trend, imitation or artifice. It means the world to me that you've witnessed my work - thank you for being here, and for shopping and supporting handmade!