The Beautiful Cabochon

by Rebecca Brooks.
(California, USA)

I wanted to share my copper wire story.
A dear friend gave me a large amount of stones to kickstart my jewelry business, and among them were these incredible turquoise cabochons.

Copper hand made chain and turquoise cabochon.

I have been so intimidated by their mesmerizing beauty and reputation I have put off doing anything with them for well over two years.

Front of pendant pre oxidation.

I know the traditional way to display turquoise is in silver, but for me it’s all about color play. My first thought was, the pink and oranges of copper would really bounce off the blues in turquoise. I asked several professional turquoise jewelers about the value and origin of my cabochons and they all said the same thing, “turquoise is too valuable a stone to set in copper.”

Back of pendant pre oxidation.

I really appreciated all the knowledge they shared with me about my stones, where they came from and their relative value. But I just couldn’t agree with setting them in silver.

Clasp and chain detail pre oxidation.

I guess I am being stubborn, but the way coppers vivid hues of fiery orange and rosy pink vibrate against the summer blue stone mesmerize me. So I came up with a super simple wire wrap to showcase the back of the cab as well as the front. I wanted the pendant wrap to be as plain as possible so that the stone tells the story.

I wanted to share the design with you all, hope you enjoy it.
Rebecca

Rebecca Brooks
Jasmine and Violets