N°59 Christmas 2024 Special Set - Reserved for Jo

Forest bathing, or shinrin-yokuwith gems from the Pilbara anyone?

I rarely manage get get my hand on Australian gemstones - all the happier I am to tell you that I received my second batch of Chrome Chalcedony from the Pilbara, WA ... and they are stunning.

I love green- so I might be a little biased , but that dark forest green interplay with light green almost white patches is very pleasant on the eye.  In the pendant & statement earrings (which also features an exquisite Peridot), the dark green hue is due to Chromium impurities which called up for some happy lime hues (Lemon Jade ) and darker green Agates.  It's like forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) on a spring day where the lights of fresh greens are competing for the deepest green for your attention.

The dark green hues are there to soothe and the light greens to symbolise green shoots as you will find them when you walk through a forest.  There are numerous studies that show that immersion in green vegetation has significant effects on lowering the stress compounds in the body. Of course these pieces can't do this for you, but nonetheless I have tried to express this very calm feeling of forest bathing for you!

For me, the pendant, with its marbled,earthy patterns, is evocative of mossy stones or the intricate layering found in tree bark. It somehow mirrors the texture and striations of natural formations, drawing attention to the structural complexity of plant anatomy - sorry the scientist in me has re-emerged! In short - some days only green will do.