"Peperomia" Pendant in 18K Gold and Green Beryl on Gold Emerald Bead Necklace

This one-of-a-kind pendant by Eytan Brandes features a freeform slice of gold, set with a diamond, over a freeform slice of goshenite. Goshenite is a variety of beryl -- basically aquamarine without color. We acquired a little pile of this stuff -- the palest of pale blue and oddly cut -- and were at a loss as to what to do with it until Eytan hit on the idea of setting one of them in a bezel with an oxidized (blackened) inside pan. We love the end result. The swirly pattern of the oxidization plus the faceting plus the minute coloration of the stone combine to give this humble gem a truly unique, shimmery look -- worthy, even, of a hearty "Gosh!" (if anyone actually said "gosh" anymore...) By contrast, the diamond, bezel-set to float in the opening of Eytan's 18 karat gold shard, involves absolutely no hanky-panky. It's an earth-mined, natural and untreated stone weighing 0.04 carats -- a small but high quality sparkler (Eytan rates it G-H color and VS2 clarity). The hand-wrought pulled wire bale is roughly oval-shaped and oversized, since Eytan envisioned his pendant would be paired with beads (which generally require a bigger bale than a chain), but removable. We think our choker-length strand of faceted but rough sapphire...

Eytan made a pendant like this in 2020 using some stray 18k discs and tubes that he had acquired so long ago he doesn't remember where they came from. That pendant sold immediately, but it was basically a one-off since he had 15 stray discs and 14 stray tubes and the pendant used up all of them. But Eytan has been making jewelry for almost fifty years and in fifty years, things get moved around, stuff gets separated, boxes get shoved here, envelopes get shoved there, the moon waxes and wanes, and before you know it, your shop is like an advent calendar...

Eytan's design of cascading peperomia leaves is one he's used for many different pieces, but each piece is unique. This time, he's made it into a pendant with a faceted opal bead drop to serve as the centerpiece on a station necklace of black diamond and opal beads. The opals are from Ethiopia and are predominantly golden orange with flashes of green and yellow. There are 18 opals...

Snakes upstairs and snakes downstairs, with a big, beautiful Tahitian pearl in the middle: this one-of-a-kind pendant from Eytan Brandes celebrates all things slithery. Snake North is one of Eytan's original designs, usually seen as earrings, but this wee snake is acting as the link between the pendant's bale and the pearl cap. He's crowned with a faceted emerald (recycled from an old brooch) and he's 18 karat gold. Snake South is actually the head of an antique hatpin...