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Castle Mountain Designs will be taking a break for a while.
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A single 14mm Ice Flake Quartz gemstone, set with Ice Flake Quartz, pink Bamboo Coral and glass flowers, all in a Sterling Silver setting
Hand-turned Pink Ivory
4 5/8" Effective Length
6 1/8" Total Length
This is a portfolio piece, and is no longer available to buy.
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For the main stick of this piece, we chose a piece of Pink Ivory. A rare exotic wood originating in Africa, Pink Ivory was the Royal wood of the Zulus, and only Zulu chiefs were permitted to carry a knob-kerry - a traditional, ball-topped staff or club - crafted out of it.
Today, Pink Ivory's rarity means it is used almost exclusively for luxury items. Its delicate color is run through with sometimes vivid streaks of pink, and its density makes it a wonderful wood for crafting hairsticks. Rob hand-turned this stick, which was then finished with a water-resistant semi-gloss coating, making it ideal for wet or damp bunning.
For the focus of the jewelled headpiece, Tracey selected a single 14mm Ice Flake Quartz bead. A natural form of crystal-clear Quartz, Ice Flake Quartz has been exposed to extremes of heat and cold, giving it a wonderful crystalline structure that displays colorful flashes of prismatic fire as light passes through. This particular gemstone features a number of striking fracture walls that capture the light beautifully.
To complement the focal stone, she chose a combination of Ice Flake Quartz, glass flowers and pink Bamboo Coral. Bamboo Coral is the finest quality coral for making jewelry, taking on dye colors wonderfully and evenly and yielding a smooth, beautiful surface in the final bead. The final design was finished and set with all Sterling Silver accents. When assembled, the entire hairstick has a total length of six and one-eighth inches, and an effective length of four and five-eighth inches.
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