Steeples & Domes
This 69mm long striking necklace pairs semi-precious stone beads in tiger’s eye and turquoise with four long Nepalese silver-wrapped bicones with stone inlay, and round Nepalese grooved silver beads. For more info on the necklace, please click on Details, and if interested in my musings, please go to Story.
The identification of the beads start from the bead in the centre, moving upwards, with measurement for some of the bigger beads, with metal beads named last.
Length: 69 cm (27”)
Weight: 117 gms
Tiger’s eye: 14 mm and 10 mm
Turquoise rounds and short barrels
Silver spacers
Nepalese grooved silver beads: 15 mm
Nepalese silver wrapped bicones with inlay: 46 mm long
Small interwoven Thai silver beads
Gold-filled crimp tubes
Silver toggle clasp
When I saw the silver wrapped bicones with inlay of turquoise and a reddish-brown stone (could be coral) that I couldn’t quite identify in a bead shop in Bangkok in Feb ‘23, I knew I had to buy some, never having come across them before. The salesperson at the shop said that they were from Nepal. This explains why I had not seen them before – beads from Nepal are less common in the market than say, beads from Thailand or Bali.
I really like the graceful design of these beads, and the inlay called to mind stained glass mosaic windows, the cones on both ends, of steeples. And so, I set out to design with an idea in mind, pulling out tiger’s eye beads to match the brown of the inlay, as well as turquoise. I brought in some round, grooved silver beads, coincidentally bought (and hoarded) when I made a trip to Nepal at the end of ’95! I liked the rather dramatic effect of contrasting the richness and the roundness of the tiger’s eye with the slimness of the silver wrapped bicones, as well as the intense blue of the turquoise. And the grooved silver beads had a dome-like effect.
I am calling this necklace Steeples and Domes, reminded of the architecture of churches and cathedrals In Italy and elsewhere in Europe. A long necklace, you could safely wear it with shades of blue or brown, but you could also strive for a more dramatic impact with fuchsia, saffron yellow, or a deep jungle green – I put Steeples and Domes against all three colours and loved the effect. Enjoy!
