6mm Oregon Sunstone studs in sterling silver

I'm calling these earrings "Oregon Neopolitan" because of the colors of the stones. All three stones are Oregon natives. The first is "Vanilla" (or clear) Oregon Sunstone. The second is a "Chocolate" Oregon Fire Opal from Opal Butte near John Day. The third pink stone, you may not be familiar with. It's a pink common opal, also found near Opal Butte from the Pink Lady mine. This one, I call "Strawberry" pink opal. It's rounded out by another sweet "Vanilla" Oregon Sunstone bead. All set on sterling silver wire, hand fashioned and micro welded together.

These earrings feature two beautifully faceted champagne Oregon Sunstone beads and a red Swarovski glass bead on each. Finished with a 1" long sterling silver feather and all sterling silver wire. They dangle and catch the light beautifully and would make a perfect gift for someone special, or just a nice treat for yourself. Oregon Sunstone was revered by the indigenous people of Oregon who used it in medicine wheel ceremonies and often would bury their dead with this sacred stone. The folklore is that one day, a great warrior was injured by an enemies arrow. As he fell to the ground, his blood stained the crystals, inbuing them with his spirit (thus, the red color of some Oregon Sunstone).

This Oregon Sunstone pendant features a bicolor mostly green with pink and champagne, concave cut stone. It weighs 7.8ct and would retail for over $700 for the stone alone. The stone in this pendant is special, not only because of the rare green/pink bicolor aspect but also because of the special "concave cut." Concave refers to the surface of the facet. Rather than being flat, the facet is curved in a concave direction. The cutting process is similar to traditional faceting except that rather than cutting on a flat disk, a smaller cylinder is used. This cuts the curved facet. These curved facets work like lenses and create a more dramatic difference in light and dark area''s in the stone, and give the illusion that there are a lot more facets than there really are. The most noticeable effects come from facets on the pavilion of the stone. Oregon Sunstone is the official state gemstone, and it's so easy to see why. The colors are just amazing, and this one is no exception. It's set in a pretty sterling silver setting with a nice 18" chain included.