This necklace features a 5mm Zambian rose garnet weighing .96 carats. I like these stones for several reasons. Since garnets are less expensive than rubies, it’s much more likely to be a genuine stone. While it’s certainly possible, it’s much less likely that gem sellers will try to pass a fake. Being less expensive, a better grade of stone is usually seen. This one shows nice clarity and reflects a lovely deep red color. Garnets achieve this naturally and are not typically heat treated. A similarly-sized ruby would be very, very expensive.

The second necklace completed this week is a dichroic glass pendant. This particular piece of glass was made by a student at the Appalachian Center for Craft, unfortunately I cannot remember her name. I purchased a number of pieces of glass from her somewhere around 2003 or so.

Both of these necklaces are available for sale at the Irritable Pelican Art Gallery on Tybee Island.