A Necklace of Agate and Pearl
Replicating Henry II's necklace (France, 1559)
My introductory project at PLG was to learn the simple cabochon. A cabochon is any stone that is polished into a smooth domed shape with a flat-ground back side. They are well suited to more opaque materials or materials with internal patterning, and are relatively simple to set into jewelry with the flat back. Until the invention of faceting began in the mid 1300s, this would have been the primary method that humans used to shape stones of all kinds for decorative use.
My first cab was from a gorgeous piece of semitranslucent dendritic agate. As I was working on it, it began to remind me of the carved agate cameos that featured prominently on many renaissance pendants, pins, and rings. By the time I had finished the stone, I had decided to turn it into my introductory silversmithing project as well. The final design was inspired by a portrait of Henry II, where he is wearing a beautiful necklace of an engraved pendant and matching beaded chain. I designed my setting after that image, and created a chain of agate, pearl, and silver beads to match the look of the painting, if not the materials. For my first-ever efforts at cabbing, silversmithing, and documentation-writing, I'm very pleased with how it all came out!
The completed necklace
Modeled by the artist. Whether I or Henry II wore it better is left as an exercise to the reader.
Close-up of the pendant
Dendritic agate cabochon in lieu of a more period cameo because I don't know how to carve cameos but I do know how to make and set cabochons.
