'World's End' Royal Mile Cobble, in a Scottish Gold & Sterling Silver Pendant
An elegantly designed piece, paying homage to a small but signifcant part of Edinburgh's rich history (see below for a wee tale about our 'golden' cobbles!).
This stunning sterling silver pendant, adorned with hallmarked ALBA 14ct Scottish Gold, showcases a perfectly polished cabochon of old granite cobblestone which was extracted from Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile last year.
Pendant measures approximately 36x15x5mm, including intricately carved bail, which features a beautiful Celtic motif. Pendant will come with a complimentary 18"-20" sterling silver rope twist chain, presentation box and Royal Mile Cobblestones & Scottish Gold pamphlets, as well as a Scottish Gold authenticity certifcate. If buying online, there is free premium shipping for this item, so please choose 'free shipping' at checkout as we will automatically send this on a tracked service.
The tale
In the mid 18th-century, before architect James Craig designed the first iteration of Edinburgh’s expansive New Town area, the Scottish capital was significantly smaller than it is today with a high-density population of mostly poor residents.
Within the boundaries of the Old Town, a gatehouse known as the Netherbow Port stood at World's End Close, marking the city's limit. Brass 'setts' or cobbles marked this limit and was wryly known as 'the end of the world'. This formidable port buildling, ghoulishly embellished with the heads of executed prisoners, served as the passage connecting the Royal Mile and the Canongate region.
Entrance or exit through the Netherbow Port came at a cost, as travelers were required to pay a toll. Regrettably, this meant that those who couldn't afford the fee were effectively trapped within the confines of Edinburgh for the duration of their lives, unable to venture beyond its boundaries.
Edinburgh's famous 'Royal Mile' gets its name from the 500 year old processional route used by queens and kings, and the old “Scots mile”, which actually measures 107 yards longer than an “English” mile. Popular with citizens and tourists alike, the Royal Mile connects Edinburgh Castle, which sits atop an extinct volcano, and Holyrood Palace, which has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century. Paving the Royal Mile are locally sourced cobbles - also known as “setts” - typically made from hard wearing stone (granite and basalt). In 2021 Edinburgh Council widened the pavements on the city’s Royal Mile to make it more pedestrian friendly. During this process, all the historic cobbles in various sections were removed, reconditioned and painstakingly relaid. At the end of the process there was a handful of cobbles left spare, which Two Skies founder Adam McIntosh managed to secure a purchase on with the Royal Mile project manager Stan. Our most recent Cobblestone jewellery has been created from this batch.
