LAPIS pendant

i've had this lapis medallion for many years. i can't remember exactly where i bought it, but i'm pretty sure it was some hole in the wall gem store in D.C., or a dusty forgotten-about vintage rock store in Virginia Beach. never the less, it's been a while. through the years i've worn it with a simple hook and black cord. it's been dropped and banged around collecting a few rough edges.

since moving into my friend serena's house i've met our neighbor joe who i've met previously at the cafe. upon visiting joe's house (another separate post deserving recognition) one is instantly enthralled in everything hanging off the ceilings, walls and windows. and later as your gaze comes back down to eye sight level you notice everything lingering around at hand level. as i'm a curious one about other people's habitats, their stories and what they do that distinguishes them, i discovered that joe is a jeweler. my ears perked...i've been searching for someone to encase my lapis in a simple metal band to protect it from future nicks and bangs. we looked at the piece under a light to see it's decadent strands of black and gold filaments.

a few days pass and joe invites me over to see the work he's done so far: a royal band with a crown like scalloped edge. wow! a few more days later he calls me over to see an idea he had: a short band of turquoise at the bottom curve, in various shapes of oval starting in with biggest in the center and getting smaller as both sides round up...vintage, Persian turquoise! how exquisite. and the visits progressed into many adaptations...a tiny diamond because it's my birth stone, which was news to me. i argued a bit about the diamond stating that i'm really not a big fan of diamonds. a look of surprise and i realized it was an honorable gift, so i accepted. it made a perfect fit for the hole drilled near the top as a way to affix some device to assemble a chain. and the last and final addition, an oval piece of coral at the top.

a complete and gorgeous surprise when i received it today...even joe himself said it was magic!