Vintage Hand Made Sterling Silver Slide Pendants, One With An Ammonite Fossil And hotsell Iridescent Mauve MOP, The Other With A Conus Abbas Shell
Vintage Hand Made Sterling Silver Slide Pendants, One With An Ammonite Fossil And Iridescent Mauve MOP, The Other With A Conus Abbas Shell
Treasures from the world's oceans. Shell and fossil specimens you can wear!
*The first on the left is an ammonite fossil with a warm pink/tan iridescent slice of mother of pearl shell. 49mm long by 35mm wide and 8mm thick, not including the hanging slide loop on the back.
Constructed by hand with heavy sterling silver, this piece has a total weight of 29.5 grams. It features an ammonite fossil at the top measuring roughly 23mm from top to bottom in the setting. This cut away view reveals the spiral and chambers in what used to be the shell of a living creature.
The colors in this piece range from opaque to translucent yellow to amber and brown with some rust/brown. The surface is highly polished and reflective. It sits firmly in the setting without wobble as does the 12 by 29mm rectangular mauve mother of pearl shell piece below it. This shell piece shimmers with iridescent tones of blue, pink, green and gold with a high shine to the surface.
Both sections have a raised outer ridge around the bezels and where they are joined there are two solid silver beads, one on either side. The finish is brightly polished on both sides. On the back the fossil is exposed in a recessed setting and an opalized area is visible in shining, fiery red/orange streaks along with matte brown.
The rectangular section below shows a shiny, translucent, peach color with two pale streaks running vertically. I suspect this piece may have initially been a two holed bead.
At the top of the pendant is a slide hook. This allows the pendant to be hooked on over an existing single or multi strand necklace, chain, heavy cord(s) or even a rigid neck ring. The hook is 24mm long by 5mm wide. It is stamped 925(the mark of sterling quality) and MD. More information about ammonites and the fossilization process is at the bottom of the listing.
*The second choice, on the right is a Conus Abbas shell sliced in half and set into the heavy walled, solid sterling silver pendant. It measures 69mm tall by 36mm wide and 20mm thick excluding the back loop. The total weight is 38.1 grams.
The shell of this species is cone shaped, white, very finely reticulated with narrow orange-brown lines, with a broad central and often narrower upper and lower bands of darker color bearing occasional longitudinal chocolate stripes. This gives it a random geometric appearance. It is the back side of the shell, so there is no opening and the surface is finely grooved with a softly shining finish.
Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" hotsell humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or not at all.
The bezel is plain and snug against the shell with a ridge around all sides. The back is plain with some tarnish, a few minor dents and some scratches. The 3mm wide hanging loop is soldered to the back at top and bottom. The opening is 9mm in diameter at the most and tapers like half of a teardrop with the opening length being 18mm long. The back is stamped 925(sterling silver quality) and KM.
Both lovely and interesting examples of natures best work that you can wear alone or layered, dress down casual or dressed up.
Thank you for visiting. I have many more items to list from my collection. Please visit often and do let me know if you are in search of anything in particular. I just might have it!
Here is a link back to my shop if you wish to see my other treasures.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/HammeredEdgeStudio
PS. If you need a gauge to measure items. I sell them. Here is the link below.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/231607290/all-important-brass-gauge-for-measuring?ref=shop_home_active_10
More about ammonites and fossils;
Ammonites are one of the most widely known fossils, possessing the typically ribbed spiral-form shell. These creatures lived in
the seas between 240 - 65 million years ago, when they became extinct along with the dinosaurs. The name 'ammonite' originates from the Greek Ram-horned god called Ammon. Ammonites belong to a group of predators known as cephalopods, which includes their living relatives the octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus.
The most common method of fossilization is permineralization. After a bone, wood fragment, or shell is buried in sediment, it may be exposed to mineral-rich water that moves through the sediment. This water will deposit minerals into empty spaces, producing a fossil.